WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equality Act 2010

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what discussions she has had with representatives of Christian organisations on the Equality Act 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), only attended such meetings during 2010, when she met representatives from a range of organisations, including some Christian organisations, during a listening exercise she held on the next steps for civil partnerships. This included discussion of section 202 of the Equality Act 2010, which is the voluntary provision we implemented on 5 December 2011 to remove the ban on civil partnership registrations taking place on religious premises.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what discussions the Government Equalities Office has had with the Scottish Government and Welsh Government on the proposed closure of the Equality and Human Rights Commission helpline; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: Representatives of the Scottish and Welsh Governments took part in the extensive engagement events that the Government Equalities Office (GEO) held in March and April 2011, on the new information, advice and support system for victims of discrimination and human rights abuses. GEO has continued to have regular contact with them to ensure that the new Equality Advisory and Support service will have a full appreciation of the distinctive constitutional, legal, social and policy context within Scotland and Wales.

Legal Costs

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much her Department spent on fees for legal work in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: From 1 April 2011, the Government Equalities Office became part of the Home Office. Information relating to the Government Equalities Office will be included in the reply of the Minister for Immigration, the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green).

LGB&T: Violence and Discrimination

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to tackle violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to tackle violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Lynne Featherstone: This Government are strongly committed to advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB&T) equality and to tackling discrimination and violence against LGB&T people whenever it occurs.
	In March 2011, the Government published “Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality: Moving Forward”. This action plan outlined an ambitious range of actions the Government will take, from tackling homophobic bullying in schools to improving its response rate to hate crime. This was followed in December 2011 by the first ever Government transgender equality action plan, “Advancing Transgender Equality: A Plan for Action”, to address the specific challenges transgender people face. Both documents can be found on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/equalities/
	Last month, the Government also published “Challenge it, Report it, Stop it”, an action plan to tackle all forms of hate crime, including homophobic and transphobic hate crime. The action plan is available on the Home Office website at:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/hate-crime/

Marriage

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if she will hold a public consultation on Government proposals to change the definition of marriage.

Lynne Featherstone: On 15 March 2012, the Government published a consultation on how to enable all couples to have a civil marriage, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. A written ministerial statement was laid on the day of publication and copies made available in the House Library.
	The consultation runs until 14 June 2012. The proposals only cover England and Wales and do not affect marriage and civil partnerships in Northern Ireland or Scotland.

Marriage

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what recent representations she has received on equality in marriage; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government published a consultation on equal civil marriage on 15 March 2012 which runs until 14 June. A written ministerial statement was laid in the House on the day of publication, 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 37-8WS, and copies made available in the House Library.
	As part of this consultation, we are encouraging all those with an interest in this issue to respond formally via the Home Office website. Both Ministers and officials have met with a range of organisations ahead of publishing the consultation and will continue to do so during the consultation period itself. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and representations.

Pay: Gender

Guy Opperman: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps the Government Equalities Office is taking to reduce the pay gap between men and women.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government are committed to making full use of the skills and experiences that women bring to our economy. We are addressing the barriers that women can face in the workplace, for example by extending flexible working and reforming parental leave. Under the universal credit, we will for the first time extend help with child care to those working under 16 hours, which will assist around 80,000 families.
	In addition we are supporting women's enterprise through identifying and training 5,000 business mentors; and, with Lord Davies, we are helping more women to reach the boardrooms of our leading companies.
	In September 2011, the Government launched a voluntary initiative to promote transparency on gender equality with leading companies and the CBI. “Think, Act, Report” asks private and voluntary sector employers to tackle barriers for women at work, and enjoy business and economic benefits, by taking a step by step approach to greater transparency on pay and other workplace issues. We are now working with business and partner organisations to encourage uptake.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many staff of her Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many of such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: From 1 April 2011, the Government Equalities Office became part of the Home Office. Information relating to the Government Equalities Office will be included in the reply of the Minister for Immigration, the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green).

Vacancies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior Civil Service posts in her Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: From 1 April 2011, the Government Equalities Office became part of the Home Office. Information relating to the Government Equalities Office will be included in the reply of my hon. Friend, the Minister for Immigration.

Young People: Sexual Offences

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to prevent teenage girls becoming victims of sexual violence.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government published their updated Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan on 8 March this year. One of the guiding principles of our action plan is to prevent violence against women and girls from happening in the first place, by challenging the attitudes and behaviours which foster it, and intervening early where possible to prevent it. The plan is on the Home Office website.
	A key part of this has been our Teenage Relationship Abuse campaign and our Teenage Rape Prevention campaign which highlights to young people that abuse is never acceptable. We also recently announced extra money (£1.2 million) to fund sexual violence support services for those young girls caught up in gang violence.
	Other actions in the Plan include work to tackle sexual bullying and harassing practices such as 'sexting' and to encourage teaching of sexual content within the curriculum.

PRIME MINISTER

10 Downing Street : Manpower

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Prime Minister what the name and job title is of each person with a desk at 10 Downing street who is not a Minister, special adviser, civil servant or police or security staff.

David Cameron: Information on officials working in UK civil service, including the Prime Minister’s Office, is in the public domain and is available on the Cabinet Office transparency website:
	http://data.gov.uk/organogram/cabinet-office
	It has been long-established practice under successive Administrations that there is a political office within No. 10. The staffing and associated costs for my political office are met by the Conservative party.

Afghanistan: Military Operations

David Winnick: To ask the Prime Minister whether the deadline set for the UK to cease its combat role in Afghanistan will be met regardless of the military and political situation in that country.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband), on 21 March 2012, Official Report, column 783.

Official Hospitality

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Prime Minister if he will provide a list of all events held at (a) Chequers and (b) 10 Downing street for which the Government has been reimbursed by (i) the Prime Minister and (ii) the Conservative party; and what the total amount reimbursed was in each case.

David Cameron: No public money has been spent on political events.

Peter Cruddas

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Prime Minister whether (a) he, (b) his special advisers and (c) officials in 10 Downing street have had any meetings with Peter Cruddas since May 2010.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth), on 17 April 2012, Official Report, column 311W.

Sarah Southern

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Prime Minister whether (a) he, (b) his special advisers and (c) officials in 10 Downing street have had any meetings with Sarah Southern since May 2010.

David Cameron: Neither I nor members of my office have met Sarah Southern on official business since May 2010. It is a matter of public record that I met her socially in my capacity as leader of the Conservative party.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Addison Lee

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what meetings (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department have had with John Griffin of Addison Lee since 12 May 2010.

John Penrose: No meetings have been held with John Griffin since 12 May 2012 by departmental Ministers, special advisers or officials.
	The Department publishes lists of meetings Ministers, special advisers and the Permanent Secretary have had with external organisations on our transparency website
	http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/

Animation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to support the cartoon animation industry in the UK.

Jeremy Hunt: We have introduced the Creative Industries Council and maintained existing direct support for film including filmed animation through the national lottery and film tax relief. Building on this success, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced the introduction of similar tax reliefs for the video games, animation and high-end TV production sectors at the last Budget.

Art Works

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to ensure public access to works of art placed in the conditional exemption scheme.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	Details of the public access arrangements to works of art, as well as land and buildings, granted conditional exemption from tax are shown on a database on the heritage part of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website. The database can be accessed from:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/heritage/
	HMRC actively monitor the owners' compliance with their public access obligations and other conditions for exemption. Where these conditions are not met, owners are encouraged to correct the position. In cases of persistent failure, HMRC will withdraw the tax exemption.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 26 April 2011, Official Report, column 34W, on broadband: enterprise zones, by what mechanisms superfast broadband will be supplied to each of the enterprise zones which have been announced.

Jeremy Hunt: We expect that in many cases enterprise zones will be able to secure superfast broadband provision through normal market mechanisms. In cases where the market will not provide superfast broadband, enterprise zones should be prioritised in local broadband plans. Cities bidding for funding from the Urban Broadband Fund were expected to include enterprise zones in their plans and all of the winning cities have done so. This Department along with the Department for Communities and Local Government
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/
	are liaising with enterprise zones to ensure a satisfactory outcome.

Culture

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assistance his Department is offering local authorities to conduct impact assessments of festivals and cultural event programmes throughout the comprehensive spending review period.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 26  March  2012 
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 March 2012, Official Report, column 935W.

Digital Economy Act 2010

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 480W, on Digital Economy Act 2010, whether he has laid before the House the statutory instruments referred to.

Jeremy Hunt: Unfortunately the planned introduction of the statutory instruments described in the answer of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 480W, has been delayed due to the need to take into account the Court of Appeal judgment on the application by BT and Talk for a judicial review of the online infringement of copyright provisions in the Digital Economy Act 2010, delivered on 6 March this year. Although the Government won convincingly, the sole point where we were ruled against—the financial responsibility for appeal case fees—has meant that we need to amend the sharing of costs statutory instrument and Ofcom need to make consequential amendments to the Initial Obligations Code. Both instruments are currently in the process of being considered by the relevant committees within Government, and we hope to be in a position to lay the sharing of costs statutory instrument before both Houses in June. At the same time Ofcom hope to be able to publish the Initial Obligations Code for a period of consultation as required by section 403 of the Communications Act 2003. This will then need to be notified to the European Commission under the terms of the Technical Standards Directive with an expectation-that the code will be laid before both Houses by the end of this year.

Film Policy Review

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on what date he expects to publish the Government's response to Lord Smith's film policy review.

Jeremy Hunt: The Government plan to publish their response to Lord Smith's film policy review shortly. Details will be available on our website at the same time.

Johnston Press

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what representations he has received from senior management at Johnston Press following their announcement to restructure large sections of their local newspaper portfolio; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: We have received no formal representations from Johnston Press since its announcement about a titles re-launch on 16 April.
	News media such as Johnston Press continue to face difficult decisions as they face up to the twin challenges of structural and cyclical change. While I have every sympathy, both for those who lose their jobs and for their families as a result of any changes, such commercial decisions are a matter for business to make.

Listed Buildings

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many meetings he has held with church representatives to discuss the effect of the abolition of zero-rated VAT on approved alterations to listed buildings; and who was present on each occasion.

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport officials have so far met church representatives once to discuss this issue, and we expect to have more meetings in future.

Lords Lieutenant

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will hold discussions with the Royal Household on steps to increase the diversity of candidates selected as Lords Lieutenant in England.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	In July 2009, the Ministry of Justice published a Protocol for the appointment of lord lieutenants. This fulfilled the commitment in the ‘Government's Response to the Sixth Report of the Justice Committee (Session 07/08) on Public Appointments: Lord-Lieutenants and High Sheriffs’ (December 2008). The Protocol sets out the types of people and bodies whose views would always be sought in consultations when appointing a new lord lieutenant. This clear consultation process helps inspire confidence that those names to be recommended by the Prime Minister to the Queen are taken from a wide range of individuals and may be seen to be appointed on merit.
	The Government are committed to the principles of diversity and have sought to widen the pool from which new lord lieutenants are drawn while still nominating on merit. In practice, the diversity of the body of English lord lieutenants has been increasing steadily in recent years. For example, five out of eight lord lieutenants in the south-west are women. The increasing number of ethnic minority deputy lieutenants is creating the potential for the number of lord lieutenants from an ethnic minority background to grow further.

Manpower

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2011, Official Report, column 235W, on departmental manpower, how many staff in (a) his Department and (b) Ofcom are working on digital economy policy and implementation, other than those working on Broadband Delivery UK.

Jeremy Hunt: The Department currently has approximately 55 staff working across Media, Communications and Creative Industry issues. The Department does not hold information on the exact number of staff who worked wholly on the digital economy policy and implementation.
	Ofcom has indicated that approximately two full-time employees have worked on implementing the online copyright infringement provisions of the Digital Economy Act during 2012.
	Other members of Ofcom staff also work on digital economy policy and implementation as needed on an ad hoc basis.

Olympic Games 2012

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure that people who secured tickets for the London 2012 Olympics and have since moved home will have their tickets sent to the right address; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: Ticketing is a matter for the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), which is a private company operating independently of Government.
	Purchasers through the UK application process were asked to check their address details with LOCOG by 6 February 2012, and update them if they had moved. Confirming details meant that LOCOG could begin assigning seats for millions of tickets before printing, packaging and addressing tickets for dispatch.
	LOCOG advise that purchasers that have moved house since 6 February 2012 may be able to put in place a Royal Mail redirection. If this is not possible, purchasers will still receive their tickets—LOCOG will be in touch with any purchasers of undelivered tickets to arrange receipt.

One North East

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the abolition of the One North East regional development fund on North East (a) tourism, (b) arts organisations, (c) artists, (d) audience engagement, (e) museums and galleries and (f) libraries.

Jeremy Hunt: This Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential effect of the abolition of the One North East regional development fund on all these areas. For tourism, VisitEngland has factored in the closure when compiling its Regional Growth Fund application and the affected boroughs will continue to be significant beneficiaries of support through schemes like Growing Tourism Locally, the Rural Development Programme England and GREAT campaign.
	One North East will no longer fund the creative industries, however our arm's length body Arts Council England is still providing arts and museums funding to the north east region. In 2011-12 Arts Council England invested £3,552,335 through Grants for the Arts, and £13,394,080 through Regularly Funded Organisations' grants. Beneficiaries include the Sage Gateshead and the National Glass Centre, whose funded activities shall improve audience engagement and facilities. Such artists' festivals as Design Event, showcasing local design talent, will adapt from an annual to bi-annual event.
	Libraries will continue to be funded and run by their local authority, who should have the flexibility to decide how best to provide a library service to their local community. Arts Council England also has been given responsibility for supporting and developing libraries and has recently launched with the Local Government Association the Libraries Development Initiative (LDI). A number of grants have been awarded to innovative projects through the LDI, including a project with Newcastle and Manchester city councils to test how well two different metropolitan library services can broker access to a cultural offer for vulnerable adults; and a national project involving Newcastle, which aims to help libraries amplify their digital reading offer.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department collects the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations.

John Penrose: No, this Department does not collect IP addresses of consultation respondents.

Radio Frequencies

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how the £280 million of capital funding set aside for spectrum clearance is to be spent.

Jeremy Hunt: The budget for spectrum clearance is to be spent securing changes to digital terrestrial television to allow channels 61 and 62 to be cleared and the signals moved, clearing programme making and special events from channels 61-69 and compensating licensed users. It also includes relocating some Government services that use the 800MHz band and remediating radars that operate close to the 2.6GHz band which is also being released in the forthcoming combined auction.

Redundancy

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department has taken steps to help its funded bodies implement redundancies arising from reductions in their grant.

John Penrose: It is for each funded body to determine for itself how best to meet any reductions in grant funding within the normal set of delegated limits, controls and approvals required by Government. Where redundancy schemes have been put in place, these have been designed and implemented according to the circumstances and operating procedures of each organisation concerned.
	The Department has provided financial assistance to those bodies most in need of it through a ring-fenced restructuring fund amounting to £24 million/£10 million/£5 million between 2011-12 and 2013-14.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

John Penrose: The following table shows the total number of staff who retired in (a) 2010 -11 and (b) 2011-12:
	
		
			 Financial year Number  of  staff who retired 
			 2010-11 23 
			 2011-12 20 
			 Total 43

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Addison Lee

Maria Eagle: To ask the Attorney-General what meetings (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in the Law Officers’ Departments have had with John Griffin of Addison Lee since 12 May 2010.

Edward Garnier: The Law Officers or officials in the Law Officers' Departments have not had any meetings with John Griffin since May 2010.
	The Attorney-General’s Office does not have any special advisers.

Crown Prosecution Service: Yorkshire and the Humber

Julian Smith: To ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the effect on the operation of the Crown Prosecution Service of the proposed reorganisation in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Edward Garnier: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Yorkshire and Humberside Area currently has offices in Bradford, York and Leeds, but is considering the option of consolidating most of its operations into its Leeds office with the aim of maintaining quality of service and bringing increased operational resilience at a time when staff numbers are being reduced. The introduction of digital working by the CPS is also expected to compliment such a move as files will be served more quickly by electronic means. The proposals also include plans to retain a CPS office in North Yorkshire located in central York.
	The proposals being considered are still at an informal consultation stage and no formal assessment has therefore been made. The departmental trade unions, the magistrates courts, the Crown court, the police, the probation service as well as CPS staff, CPS local management, and CPS headquarters are being consulted. This informal consultation period will conclude on 3 May 2012, after which an assessment will be made of the proposals.

Official Secrets

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Attorney-General whether any person employed by (a) the Law Officers’ Departments, (b) the agencies for which the Law Officers’ Departments are responsible and (c) any private firms contracted by the Law Officers’ Departments is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act.

Edward Garnier: All people employed by the Law Officers’ Departments, the agencies for which the Law Officers’ Departments are responsible and any private firms contracted by the Law Officers’ Departments are bound by the Official Secrets Act.

Prosecutions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in each region of the UK in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the outcomes of proceedings against defendants. Dropped cases include those where the CPS discontinue, withdraw or offer no evidence; or where the prosecution or indictment is stayed or charges are left to lie on file.
	Cases can be dropped for a number of reasons:
	new evidence may have come to light;
	the prosecution may be unable to proceed because the victim or witness has withdrawn or refused to give evidence;
	it may no longer be in the public interest to continue the prosecution because of the adverse effect on the victim's health; or
	the defendant may have pleaded guilty and been sentenced for other more serious charges.
	In the last year the CPS dropped 88,106 or 9.8% of all prosecutions compared with 95,869 or 10.0% in 2010-11. The following table shows the total number of prosecutions dropped by the prosecution for each police force area in each of the last two years.
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 England and Wales 95,869 10.0 88,106 9.8 
			      
			 Avon and Somerset 2,369 9.4 2,182 9.0 
			 Bedfordshire 708 8.2 726 8.7 
			 Cambridgeshire 931 8.0 912 8.6 
			 Cheshire 1,727 9.6 1,144 7.7 
			 Cleveland 1,793 12.7 1,529 11.8 
			 Cumbria 833 8.9 733 7.9 
			 Derbyshire 1,337 10.1 1,253 9.6 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,093 9.9 2,280 11.2 
			 Dorset 1,096 12.5 1,028 12.9 
			 Durham 864 9.2 793 8.5 
			 Dyfed Powys 1,203 13.2 874 11.3 
			 Essex 2,129 8.5 1,565 7.0 
			 Gloucestershire 641 10.2 498 8.8 
			 Greater Manchester 4,803 8.3 4,994 9.3 
			 Gwent 766 7.9 901 8.3 
			 Hampshire and IOW 3,340 10.9 2,979 10.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Hertfordshire 1,088 6.5 1,173 7.8 
			 Humberside 1,455 8.7 1,313 7.9 
			 Kent 2,207 9.4 2,107 9.2 
			 Lancashire 3,541 10.0 3,503 10.3 
			 Leicestershire 1,227 8.4 1,296 8.9 
			 Lincolnshire 799 8.0 811 7.8 
			 London 18,244 10.5 16,271 10.0 
			 Merseyside 3,967 13.5 2,994 11.7 
			 Norfolk 971 7.2 1,098 8.2 
			 Northamptonshire 1,094 10.6 884 10.4 
			 Northumbria 3,183 9.7 3,121 9.6 
			 North Wales 1,109 8.2 811 7.5 
			 North Yorkshire 839 8.1 1,062 10.7 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,834 9.0 1,601 9.0 
			 South Wales 2,992 10.8 2,680 10.2 
			 South Yorkshire 2,124 9.3 2,201 10.5 
			 Staffordshire 1,566 9.3 1,621 10.3 
			 Suffolk 640 6.3 610 5.9 
			 Surrey 889 8.6 772 7.4 
			 Sussex 1,891 9.3 1,667 9.2 
			 Thames Valley 2,993 9.8 2,713 9.5 
			 Warwickshire 413 5.9 458 7.0 
			 West Mercia 1,609 9.1 1,464 8.8 
			 West Midlands 4,833 11.3 4,492 11.4 
			 West Yorkshire 6,644 14.9 5,994 15.3 
			 Wiltshire 1,084 13.6 998 15.4

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from the Law Officers’ Departments since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: Information on the numbers of civil servants in the Law Officer’s Departments who have retired since May 2010 is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 Department Civil servants Senior civil servants 
			 Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol)(1) 19 1 
			 Serious Fraud Office 10 0 
			 Crown Prosecution Service 160 7 
			 (1) TSOL data also covers the Attorney-General’s Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many staff of the Law Officers' Departments retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: Information on the numbers of civil servants in the Law Officer's Departments who have retired during the last two financial years is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Total number of c ivil servants retiring Number taking early retirement 
			 Department 2010-11 2011-12 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol)(1) 14 7 2 1 
			 Serious Fraud Office 4 5 0 0 
			 Crown Prosecution Service 133 67 41 1 
			 (1) TSOL data also covers the Attorney-General’s Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Attorney-General what the policy of the Crown Prosecution Service is on the use of evidence obtained by undercover filming in making a decision whether to bring a prosecution for animal cruelty at a slaughterhouse under the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995.

Edward Garnier: The CPS reviews all cases, including issues concerning the admissibility of evidence, in accordance with the law and the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

Witnesses

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what plans the Crown Prosecution Service has for the future (a) funding and (b) number of witness care units.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will provide funding of £4 million per year for the 80 operational witness care units across England and Wales for the spending review 2010 period, until March 2015. The £4 million annual funding will be made up of £2.5 million from the CPS budget and £1.5 million that the CPS will receive from the Ministry of Justice for this purpose as its share of the victims surcharge.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Legal Costs

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on fees for legal work in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: The Department receives legal services from two external Government bodies, the Treasury Solicitor's Office (TSOL) and the Home Office Legal Adviser's Branch (HOLAB). The total costs for 2010-11 and 2011-12 were £965,659 and £577,588 respectively.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.

Owen Paterson: Since 12 April 2010, no consultations run by my Department have been subject to external verification. The Department as it is now configured is not able to provide details of consultations that were run prior to the completion of devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his Department collects the IP addresses of respondents to its consultations.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office does not collect the IP addresses of respondents to its consultations.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office processes all personal data strictly in accordance with the access to information regimes. The Department will accept contributions to its consultations from either an anonymous respondent or someone who has clearly indicated that they wish their response to be kept anonymous.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: Since May 2010, a total of 15 civil servants have retired from the Northern Ireland Office; six were senior civil servants.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many of such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: During 2010-11, nine members of staff retired from the Northern Ireland Office; two were early retirements. In 2011-12, six members of staff retired; one was early retirement.

Vacancies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior civil service posts in his Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: On 31 March 2012, the Northern Ireland Office had five vacancies, all of which were below senior civil servant level. To provide figures for 2010 and 2011 would incur disproportionate costs.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

Helen Goodman: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what estimate the Church Commissioners have made of the cost to the Church of England of the recently announced changes to VAT on building repairs.

Tony Baldry: The Church of England has calculated that the ending of the VAT exemption for listed building alterations is likely to cost it £20 million per year nationally. The Church of England has responsibility for the care and upkeep of 12,500 listed churches and cathedrals across England, which is largely met by the voluntary giving and activity of its congregations. The majority of alterations to listed church buildings take place in order to improve access to them and to broaden their use by the wider community.
	Though proposals in the Budget impact mostly on alterations to listed church buildings—as distinct from repairs—in that they remove the zero VAT rating for all listed building alteration works, the Church of England is concerned that the money available to reimburse churches for VAT charged for repair work will also be affected as a consequence of the extra demands placed on the Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme, which is proposed to have eligibility widened to include alterations.

Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

Helen Goodman: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how much funding has been allocated to the listed places of worship grant scheme in each year from 2008-09 to 2011-12; and how much will be allocated in 2012-13.

Tony Baldry: The administration of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is a matter for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, not for the Church Commissioners.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Thames Estuary

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2012, Official Report, column 393W, on the Thames Estuary airport, which organisation officials in her Department met in respect of proposals for a Thames Estuary airport.

Theresa Villiers: Officials in the Department for Transport met with representatives of Foster + Partners and Halcrow in October 2011, at their request, who presented on their proposals for a Thames Hub.

Aviation

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department received an official response to its consultation on a sustainable framework for UK aviation from the Labour party.

Theresa Villiers: We intend to consult in the summer on a draft sustainable framework for UK aviation. Last year we issued an aviation policy scoping document for consultation. No response was received from the Labour party.

Biofuels

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the level of imports of palm oil for bio-fuels in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: The renewable transport fuel obligation has been in operation since 2008. Statistics covering the volume of biofuel supplied by feedstock and country of origin are available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/series/biofuels/
	In 2008-09 127 million litres of biodiesel derived from palm oil was reported by suppliers; in 2009-10 99 million litres; and in 2010-11 35 million litres. As a proportion of overall supply of biofuels, this represents 10%, 6% and 2% respectively in each of these years. Where country of origin was reported, the data indicate that all biodiesel derived from palm oil was imported. Data for 2011-12 are not yet available.

Bus Services

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many low carbon buses have been operating in (a) the South West, (b) the South East, (c) London, (d) the West Midlands, (e) the East Midlands, (f) East Anglia, (g) the North East and (h) the North West in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: Low carbon buses supported through the Government's £76 million Green Bus Fund have been operating in England since 2010. The following table shows where the funded buses that are already in service are operating.
	
		
			 Area 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 South West 0 0 0 0 0 
			 South East 0 0 0 33 75 
			 London 0 0 0 50 127 
			 West Midlands 0 0 0 0 20 
			 East Midlands 0 0 0 0 0 
			 East Anglia 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North East 0 0 0 3 32 
			 North West 0 0 0 50 82 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 0 0 0 0 53 
		
	
	A further 571 low carbon buses supported by the Green Bus Fund are expected to come into service in England by summer 2013.
	Transport for London have also operated low carbon buses since 2006 without Green Bus Fund support. The following table shows the number of buses in service for the last five years.
	
		
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 London 6 12 56 56 62

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of the level of bus transport in rural areas; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Statistics on the levels of bus services in all areas of England are available on the Department for Transport's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics?series=buses&tag=buses-and-coaches%2C+public-transport-2
	Outside London, the provision of bus and community transport services in any area is a matter for commercial operators and for local authorities.
	However, it has long been clear that for some isolated communities traditional public transport is not a cost effective option. In such circumstances, the Government support, where achievable, the establishment of community bus services or other more flexible forms of transport.
	In recognition of the important role they play in delivering local services, I have provided a total of £20 million across two rounds of our Supporting Community Transport Fund between 2010-11 and 2011-12. This funding has been distributed to 76 local transport authorities (councils and passenger transport executives) to support the establishment and development of more community transport links to employment and services in rural areas.

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many investigations into breaches by civil servants of the Civil Service Code of Conduct occurred in her Department in each month from May 2010 to March 2012.

Norman Baker: This information in the following table is provided for the DFT central Department and its seven executive agencies. It also includes cases in which a breach of the Civil Service Code has been considered as one factor (among others) in an investigation. In order to safeguard the confidentiality of individuals, the information has been presented in quarterly groups.
	
		
			 Department for Transport: investigations into breaches by civil servants of the Civil Service Code 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 January—February—March — 15 13 
			 April—May—June 8 20 — 
			 July—August—September 26 22 — 
			 October—November—December 8 14 — 
			 Total 42 71 13

Consultants

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on efficiency and reform in Government corporate functions through shared service centres, HC 1790, which management consultants were involved in (a) setting up and (b) operation of the shared service centre project for her Department.

Norman Baker: The management consultants the Department used for (a) setting up and (b) initial operation of the shared service centre were predominantly from IBM. It should be noted that consultants were only involved in the setup and initial operation of the centre and are no longer involved in any aspect of ongoing initiatives or operations at the centre.
	IBM made up approximately 90% of usage with the remaining 10% coming from the following firms:
	Amtec Consulting
	Deloitte
	Hedra Consortium
	Atlan Resource
	Capita Interim Management
	Evolve Business Consultancy
	LM House Ltd
	Methods Consulting

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to her proposed closure of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) offices, what estimate she has made of the number of DVLA staff who could be redeployed; to which Departments they are deployed; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: No detailed work on redeployment to other Government Departments will be undertaken until the results of the recent consultation exercise have been considered and a decision made on the way forward.

Exhaust Emissions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the merits of Government incentives to encourage innovation in the field of carbon abatement technology.

Norman Baker: The coalition Government's Carbon Plan, published in December 2011, sets out our carbon reduction policies to meet the fourth carbon budget, and beyond. The plan covers all sectors of the UK economy—including transport—and is underpinned by analysis to establish the cost effectiveness. This is available in Annex B of the Plan at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/tackling-climate-change/carbon-plan/3749-carbon-plan-annex-b-dec-2011.pdf
	A number of the transport specific actions within the Carbon Plan are linked to innovation, including measures to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles and improve new car CO2 standards. For example, through the Technology Strategy Board the Government have invested over £45 million in innovative projects, which have generated over £86 million in industry co-funding, to encourage new carbon reducing technologies onto UK roads.

Flowers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on (a) cut flowers and (b) pot plants between May 2010 and February 2012.

Norman Baker: The requested information is provided in the following table. We have taken steps to limit what we regard as the excessive expenditure on these items that we inherited from the previous Administration.
	
		
			 £ 
			  (a) Cut flowers (b) Pot plants 
			  2009-10 May 2010 to March 2011 April 2011 to March 2012 2009-10 May 2010 to March 2011 April 2011 to March 2012 
			 Central Department:       
			 London Headquarters(1) 0 0 0 12,328 11,201 423 
			 Air Accidents Investigation Branch 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Marine Accident Investigation Branch(2) 0 0 0 0 9 0 
			 Rail Accident Investigation Branch(3) 0 0 0 1,675 1,571 652 
			        
			 Executive agencies:       
			 Driving Standards Agency(4) 0 0 0 7,446 6,875 6,875 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 0 0 0 2,421 0 0 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Highways Agency(5) 0 0 0 46,645 41,975 0 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 186 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency 0 41 19 0 0 0 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (6)— 0 0 (6)— 0 0 
			 (1) Includes termination cost of previous contracts. 2011-12 spend relates to maintenance only of plants located in communal areas. No further plants will be purchased and plants that perish will not be replaced. (2) Relates to purchase of one plant for “Families Room” (where MAIB speak to bereaved relatives). (3) Relates to office plant displays at two sites provided under two contracts, one of which has expired and the other will not be renewed upon expiry. (4) Relates to spend at agency HQ. (5) Relates to spend up to March 2011. All contracts have now been cancelled and there has been no spend incurred since this date. (6) The requested data can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to paragraph 2.8 of the Economic Case for High Speed Two next steps and future updates published in April 2012, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policy of the reduction of the benefit to cost ratio for the London to Birmingham high speed rail link.

Justine Greening: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 19 April 2012, Official Report, column 544W.

Highways Agency

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which companies provide contract services to the Highways Agency; for which types of work; and when each contract is due for review.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency's current business model operates such that a range of suppliers are contracted to meet the majority of the organisation's diverse requirements.
	There are many tens of contracts active at any one time, covering arrangements for operating and developing the strategic roads network, plus those for properly supporting its offices and staff.
	Each contract placed is reviewed during its currency to ensure supplier compliance and performance in relation to requirements, and in good time before completion so that appropriate procurement arrangements for the continuation of provision, if necessary, can be made.
	If my hon. Friend wishes to be more specific about any particular sector, region or supplier, I would be pleased to try to provide further details.

Highways Agency

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff worked for the Highways Agency in each of the last three financial years.

Michael Penning: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			 Highways Agency 
			 As at 31 March  each year : Number of staff 
			 2010 3,834 
			 2011 3,633 
			 2012 3,488 
		
	
	These figures were sourced from our internal Human Resources system.

Highways Agency

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff worked for the Highways Agency in the Yorkshire and Humber region in each of the last three financial years.

Michael Penning: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			 As at 31 March  each year : Number of staff 
			 2010 472 
			 2011 444 
			 2012 419 
		
	
	These figures were sourced from our internal Human Resources system.

Members: Correspondence

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire of (a) 22 February and (b) 26 March 2012.

Norman Baker: The Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), responded to both the letters on 20 April 2012.

Motorcycles

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when her Department expects to respond to its consultation on a proposed European Commission Regulation on the type approval and market surveillance of 2- and 3- wheeled vehicles and quadricycles;
	(2)  what progress has been made on reaching agreement on European Regulation COM(2010)542;
	(3)  what her Department's negotiating position is on the ability of motorists to modify their motorcycle in discussions on European Regulation COM(2010)542.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport is fully engaged in the negotiation on the Commission's proposal for a revised type approval regulation. The Department is seeking to simplify legislative burdens on motorcycle manufacturers, parts suppliers, riders and governments while improving safety and reducing tailpipe emissions.
	The Department's consultation published in September 2011 provided an opportunity for individuals and organisations to comment on the estimated costs and benefits of the proposal, and this information was used to develop the UK's initial negotiating position. We expect to publish a summary of responses to this consultation by the summer. Details of the Department's impact assessment can be found at:
	www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2011-26/
	The Government do not support the extension of existing anti-tampering measures from restricted performance machines to larger unrestricted motorcycles. We have pressed this point very firmly in discussions with the Commission during negotiations in the Council Working Group and are optimistic of achieving a satisfactory outcome.

Oil: Exploration

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations her Department has received on extraction of oil from tar sands; and what progress has been made on the inclusion of a default value for tar sands in the European Fuel Quality Directive.

Norman Baker: holding answer 18 April 2012
	Department for Transport Ministers and officials have received representations from various stakeholders including representatives of UK and international non-governmental organisations (including those representing environmental and social issues), oil companies, biofuel producers, trade associations representing the transport fuels industry, the European Commission, European member states and the Canadian Government.
	On 23 February 2012 member states voted on a European Commission proposal for the implementing measures of Article 7a of the fuel quality directive which covers default values. At the vote, a 'no opinion' result was delivered under the weighted voting procedure known as qualified majority voting. The UK Government abstained. The proposal will now proceed for consideration by the Environment Council, for which a date has not yet been set by the European Commission.

Ports

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it remains government policy that ports in England and Wales should operate on commercial lines and without public subsidy.

Michael Penning: Yes. That principle underpins the National Policy Statement for Ports, designated earlier this year, and is expressed in the Department's guidance to trust and municipal ports.
	However, ports, like other businesses, can be eligible to apply for various grants from UK and other sources, which may be offered in order to deliver identified benefits. Any such grants will need to comply with the European rules on State Aids.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Norman Baker: Yes, the Department will consider responses submitted anonymously, though we would prefer respondents to identify themselves. The code of practice on consultation states (at paragraph 6.1) that all consultation responses should be analysed carefully. There is no stipulation that it needs to come from a named respondent.
	Some DFT consultations are published via an online consultation platform:
	https://consultation.dft.gov.uk
	The system enables each consultation to be handled differently. However there is no way of verifying that the name given is correct.

Railways

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which rail franchises had fully implemented driver only operated trains before May 2010.

Theresa Villiers: Driver only operation is fully implemented on the First Capital Connect franchise.

Railways: East of England

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what profits or losses were made by the Greater Anglia franchise in each year since 2004-05.

Norman Baker: The statutory accounts for the Greater Anglia franchise, including the profit or loss made, for each financial year since 2004-05, can be found on the Companies House website at;
	www.companieshouse.gov.uk
	The company number to locate this information is 04955356.

Railways: East of England

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what proportion of their profits the Greater Anglia franchise holder has spent on improvements to infrastructure operated by them in each year since 2004-05;
	(2)  what proportion of UK rail infrastructure spending has been spent by the Greater Anglian franchise holder on improvements to infrastructure operated by them in each year since 2004-05.

Norman Baker: Major infrastructure investment schemes delivered on the Greater Anglia route since 2004-05, have been carried out by Network Rail. As the organisation responsible for the provision and maintenance of the rail infrastructure, Network Rail would have performed this infrastructure work in accordance with the Office of Rail Regulation's financial determination for Network Rail spending for Control Periods 3 and 4. Non infrastructure investment schemes specified through the Greater Anglia Franchise Agreement can be found on the Department's public register at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/topics/rail-passenger-franchises/public-register

Railways: Electrification

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department has spent on electrification of railways in each (a) nation and (b) region in each of the last 10 years.

Theresa Villiers: h olding answer 18 April 2012
	In the last 10 years, Network Rail has invested approximately £25 million on electrification of the railway between Crewe and Kidsgrove which came into use in 2003.

Railways: Electrification

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the likely date for the electrification of the rail line through Oxford; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The start of electric train operation between London Paddington and Oxford is planned for the start of the December 2016 timetable.

Railways: North West

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many track miles of the Northern Hub rail project her Department has committed to complete since May 2010.

Theresa Villiers: Since May 2010, the Department for Transport has committed funds to construct the Ordsall Chord which will be a new railway link approximately 0.25 miles in length. The Department has also committed funds to increase capacity on the Hope Valley Line and increase line speeds on sections of lines between Manchester and Sheffield; Manchester and Bradford; and Manchester and Preston. Network Rail will be identifying how many miles of track will be affected when detailed studies have been completed.

Rescue Services

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the (a) Holyhead and Liverpool, (b) Humber and Yarmouth and (c) Thames and Dover coastguard stations have paired with one another during rescue missions in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The current pairing arrangements, where two Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres are technically and operationally capable of mutual support, were introduced in 2005. The exception is Stornoway and Shetland because of technical limitations. These arrangements are so embedded in current HM Coastguard operations that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency does not record every occasion where pairing is undertaken on purely operational grounds.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from her Department since May 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: 588 civil servants have retired from the Department for Transport, including executive agencies, since 9 May 2010, nine of whom were senior civil servants.

Road Traffic Offences

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2012, Official Report, column 642W, on road traffic offences, what progress the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Lewes, has made in reviewing the implementation of section 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.

Norman Baker: I intend to provide an update on progress next month.

Roads: Finance

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many miles of additional (a) A and (b) B roads her Department has committed to funding or assisting the funding of since May 2010;
	(2)  how many miles of single carriageway A roads her Department has committed to dual since May 2010.

Norman Baker: The Highways Agency is responsible for the strategic road network in England that includes motorways and some major A roads. Since May 2010, no additional miles of new road have been committed. However in October 2010 the Department announced a programme of improvement schemes planned to be started in the 2010 spending review period to March 2015. In addition the autumn statement in November 2011 announced further schemes which would be brought forward from future spending review periods into this spending review period. Included in the programme are improvements to six major A road schemes with a total combined route length of 28 miles.
	Details of all schemes in the spending review programme can be found on the Highways Agency's website:
	www.highways.gov.uk
	The information for local major road schemes that we are committed to funding or assisting with funding is available on scheme business cases which are publically available on all relevant local authority websites. In addition further information is available setting out decisions on LA major schemes in the Department for Transport development pool which can be found on the Departments website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/local-major-transport-schemes
	Finally, the Department for Transport has published tables on its website providing information on how much local transport capital funding has been allocated for Integrated Transport and Highways Maintenance Block grants over the spending review 2010 period:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/integrated-transport-block-and-highways-maintenance/
	The tables provide information on what each local authority has been allocated. This funding can be used to improve local roads which could include widening or adding capacity. The Department does not hold details of how this funding is used.

Safety Belts

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will publish the seatbelt wearing rates in the front and rear seats for each age group for the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: holding answer 19 April 2012
	In the last five years the Department has published the seat belt wearing rates for front and rear seats broken down by age group, for the years 2007 to 2009. The most recent usage statistics are available from the Department for Transport and Transport for London's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/releases/seatbelt-and-mobile-phone-use-surveys-2009-results/
	http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/mobile-phone-and-seat-belt-report-london-08.pdf
	http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/mobile-phone-and-seat-belt-usage-rates-london-2007.pdf

Speed Limits

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department's review of circular 1/06, setting local speed limits, will consider the effect of widespread 20 mph limits on cyclist safety and levels of cycling.

Norman Baker: The current circular indicates that cycling should be considered in the setting of speed limits. We are considering available evidence related to widespread 20 mph limits in the revision of the speed limit circular and the associated speed limit tool.

Tonnage Tax

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what progress has been made on resolving whether anchor-handling vessels fall within the scope of the tug paragraph in the EU state guidelines and therefore whether they must be flagged in an EU country to qualify for tonnage tax; and what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on this matter;
	(2)  what recent progress she has made with her international counterparts on the dispute over whether anchor-handling vessels must be flagged in an EU country in order to qualify for tonnage tax.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have written to the European Commission on the subject and a reply is expected very shortly.

Tonnage Tax

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will assess the effectiveness of the strategic and commercial management test in determining eligibility for the tonnage tax.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	Companies within corporation tax, which operate qualifying ships that meet the test of being “strategically and commercially managed in the UK”, can take advantage of the special tonnage tax regime, which normally results in them paying far less tax. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, in response to industry concerns, are currently reviewing how the test operates in practice. We are working with the shipping sector to ensure that the UK remains an attractive location for maritime investment.

Traffic Regulation Orders

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has made an assessment of the effect on households without internet connectivity of her proposed abolition of the statutory duty to place notice of traffic regulation orders in local newspapers.

Norman Baker: No decisions on this matter have yet been taken, pending an analysis of consultation responses received.
	It is the responsibility of the relevant highway authority to ensure that members of the public are aware of proposals to make temporary and permanent traffic regulation orders. Alongside the consultation, I launched draft guidance which states that:
	“we consider that in most cases online publicity alone will not provide the coverage required to publicise traffic orders adequately…the authority will usually need to do something else to inform people.”
	The draft guidance also lays out a range of alternative methods of communication that the authority is asked to consider when deciding how to reach their target audience. We therefore anticipate that in the majority of cases, while we would strongly recommend publication on the internet, publicity will not be done solely online.

TREASURY

Balance of Trade

Anna Soubry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to decrease the trade deficit.

Chloe Smith: The Government are taking a number of steps to boost the UK's exports and reduce the trade deficit. For example, five new products from UK Export Finance have recently been introduced, a number of which are designed to meet the needs of small and medium enterprise (SME) exporters. In the autumn statement the Government also announced that they would be giving more resources to UK Trade and Investment's regional network, allowing it to increase the number of SMEs it helps annually from 25,000 to 50,000 by 2015. These policies will help to meet the Government's ambition set out in Budget 2012 for UK exports to reach £1 trillion by 2020.
	The latest forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility shows the trade deficit is expected to decrease in every year to 2016.

Bank Services

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made an estimate of the level of penalty charges associated with over-limit fees and failed direct debits levied by banks on UK banking customers; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: In November 2011 the Government announced a new agreement with the major personal current account providers to bring in new measures to allow customers to easily access clear and transparent information about the charges that may apply if they exceed their credit or arranged overdraft limit; and to ensure that they have a reasonable opportunity to manage their account and control whether or not they incur such charges.
	Alongside this, evidence from the Office of Fair Trading shows that the average unpaid item charge has fallen from £34 in 2007 to £14 in 2011. The total revenue from unarranged item charges has also fallen by 20% from £2.5 billion in 2009 to £2 billion in 2010. The Office of Fair Trading is due to conduct a further comprehensive review of the personal current account market in 2012.

Bank Services

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who (a) have no bank account, (b) have no mainstream financial products and (c) are underbanked with only one or two financial products; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Government are committed to improving access to financial services. The following table from HM Treasury's “Statistical Release: Households without access to bank accounts 2008-09”, shows the most up-to-date figures currently available for the number of unbanked broken down by number of adults and households.
	
		
			 Table 1: Unbanked (without access to transactional account) 
			  Households without transactional account—positively affirmed no account Adults without access to transactional account—positively affirmed no account 
			  Thousand Percentage of total Thousand Percentage of total 
			 2008-09 1,140 4 1,540 3 
			 2007-08 1,280 5 1,750 4 
			 2006-07 1,410 5 1,920 4 
			 2002-03 2,570 10 3,570 8 
		
	
	Comparable figures are not available for either the number of individuals without any mainstream financial products or with only one or two financial products.

Child Benefit

Meg Munn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of parents who will fail not inform HM Revenue and Customs that they earn above the amount at which they are entitled to claim child benefit; and what estimate he has made of the consequent loss of revenue to the Exchequer.

David Gauke: The Budget 2012 costing allows for the possibility that a small number of families will not be correctly identified and this reduces the savings by £55 million, or around 2.5%, for the first full year. As with other tax liabilities, taxpayers will have an obligation to tell HMRC that they are liable to pay the charge. HMRC will closely monitor compliance with the new charge in order to respond to any non-compliance in the most appropriate and effective way.
	Caseloads and proportions are not available.

Child Benefit

Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Wrexham constituency were in receipt of child benefit in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: This information is published in the HMRC publication ‘Child Benefit Statistics Geographical analysis at Country, Region, Local Authority and Parliamentary Constituency levels’. Information for August 2011 can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/chb-geog-aug11.pdf
	Table 6 has this information by Westminster parliamentary constituency.

Child Benefit

David Nuttall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals resident in Bury North constituency were in receipt of child benefit on the most recent date for which figures are available.

David Gauke: There are 11,640 families in Bury North constituency currently in receipt of child benefit.
	This information is published in the HMRC publication ‘Child Benefit Statistics Geographical analysis at Country, Region, Local Authority and Parliamentary Constituency levels'. Information for August 2011 can be found here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/chb-geog-aug11.pdf
	Table 6 has this information by Westminster parliamentary constituency.

Credit

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to limit the maximum interest rates that can be charged by consumer credit entities.

Norman Lamb: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Before intervening in this market the Government need robust evidence of what the impact of a total cost of credit cap might have, both on consumers and businesses. We have commissioned the Personal Finance Research Centre of Bristol university to conduct research on introducing a variable cap on the total cost of credit that can be charged in the high cost credit market. This research will enable the Government to make a thorough assessment of what the impact might be both on the high cost credit industry and on those consumers who rely on this market to obtain credit.
	We expect the research to be complete and the results published by summer 2012.

Crown Estate

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 59W, on the Crown Estate Commissioners: manufacturing industries, how much rental income the Crown Estate receives from tenants engaged in manufacturing or engineering; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The Crown Estate does not hold this information, as it does not record lease agreements by activity.

Diesel: Smuggling

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate HM Revenue and Customs has made of the proportion of diesel sold in (a) the UK and (b) Northern Ireland that is illicit.

Chloe Smith: Estimates of the illicit market for diesel are reported in “Measuring tax gaps 2011” which is published on the HMRC website and available online at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/mtg-2011.pdf

Driving

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government is taking to reduce the cost of motoring.

Chloe Smith: The Government are supporting motorists and businesses through a reduction in fuel duty, abolition of the fuel duty escalator, introduction of a fair fuel stabiliser, cancellation of the duty increase that was planned for 1 August 2012 and deferral of the January 2012 duty increase to August 2012 to freeze rates for 16 months. Consequently, as of 1 April 2012 average pump prices could be approximately 10 pence per litre lower than they would otherwise have been.

E-mail

John Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the period for which emails sent and received by (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers in his Department are retained; and whether such emails are recoverable from the IT systems in his Department after that period.

Chloe Smith: holding answer 16 April 2012
	E-mails held in mailboxes provided to Ministers, officials and special advisers as part of their official duties are subject to a capacity limit of 1 gigabyte.
	During their time in post, it is the sender's responsibility to ensure that e-mails containing information that relates to official business, and which need to be kept for the record, are saved into the appropriate corporate repository. E-mails from third parties are to be captured into the appropriate corporate repository by the lead policy recipient. This is to ensure context and a comprehensive audit trial are maintained. If captured in the corporate repository, the retention period will be determined by the nature of the business to which they relate. For example, e-mails relating to policy formation and government spending may be stored as part of the historical record and will be considered for long-term at the National Archives. On the other hand, e-mails relating to corporate governance matters, such as human resources, are retained in accordance with the relevant legislation and regulations which apply to the activity in question (eg recruitment), including the Data Protection Act 1998.
	All personal mailboxes and drives provided to all personnel carrying out work on behalf of HM Treasury are deleted 10 working days after the individual leaves the Department. For disaster recovery purposes the Department requires its IT provider to keep a 12 month rolling back-up of all e-mails.
	The Treasury's records management policy is available online at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about_record_mngmnt_pol. htm#What_is_the_Treasurys_policy_on_personal_ mailboxes_ and_drives

Equitable Life: Compensation

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of Equitable Life's compensation scheme distribution of payments to policy holders.

Mark Hoban: The scheme intends to publish a further progress report in summer 2012 on the volumes and values of payments made.

Financial Services: EU Internal Trade

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the potential added value to exports in financial services from achieving a fully integrated EU financial services market; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Following the Financial Services Action Plan there is already a highly integrated wholesale financial services market in Europe. The UK as a leading global financial services centre acts as an entry point to the EU. For Europe, this has improved the allocation of capital, through, for example, more efficient, deeper and broader security markets; lowered transaction costs and improved market liquidity; and created more opportunities to pool risk. For the UK, some 38% of the UK's trade surplus in financial services is with the EU—this was worth £13.3 billion in 2010. The Government are continuing to look for opportunities to increase this integration and protect the benefits already secured.

Gift Aid

Mark Pawsey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of administering Gift Aid was in each of the last five financial years.

Chloe Smith: HM Revenue and Customs does not distinguish the costs of administering Gift Aid from its other activities in relation to charities and charitable giving.
	This information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Global Warming Policy Foundation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings officials in his Department have had with representatives of the Global Warming Policy Foundation in the latest period for which information is available.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Housing: Sales

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of residential properties valued at over £2 million in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) each parliamentary constituency in the UK.

Chloe Smith: The number of residential properties in the UK currently valued at over £2 million is estimated to be around 56,000. Available data on property transactions suggest around 1% of these would be in Scotland. No stock data are available at the level of parliamentary constituency, and therefore no estimates have been made on that basis.

Income Tax

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people resident in (a) Woking constituency and (b) Surrey who will no longer pay income tax as a result of his proposed increase in the personal allowance (i) from April 2012 and (ii) to £10,000 by April 2015.

David Gauke: The 2011 Budget announced a £630 cash increase in the personal allowance for under 65s to £8,105 in 2012-13 (£240 above expected RPI indexation), with an equivalent reduction in the basic rate limit to leave the higher rate threshold unchanged.
	As a result of these measures, the Government estimated that in 2012-13 260,000 of the lowest income taxpayers will be removed from tax altogether. Information at Government office region is provided in the following table.
	
		
			 Government Office Region Number taken out of income tax (thousand) 
			 North East 10 
			 North West and Merseyside 28 
			 Yorkshire and the Number 26 
			 East Midlands 18 
			 West Midlands 25 
			 East of England 25 
			 London 30 
			 South East 32 
			 South West 24 
			 Wales 10 
			 Scotland 21 
			 Northern Ireland 9 
			 Address abroad/unknown 3 
			 All 260 
		
	
	These estimates are based on the 2007-08 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2012-13 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2011 economic and fiscal outlook.
	The 2012 Budget announced a £1,100 cash increase in the personal allowance for under 65s to £9,205 in 2013-14 (£850 above indexation).
	As a result of this measure the Government estimates that in 2013-14 844,000 of the lowest income taxpayers will be removed from tax altogether. Information at Government office region is provided in the following table.
	
		
			 Government Office Region Number taken out of income tax (thousand) 
			 North East 34 
			 North West and Merseyside 95 
			 Yorkshire and the Number 74 
			 East Midlands 66 
			 West Midlands 74 
			 East of England 75 
			 London 97 
			 South East 104 
			 South West 73 
			 Wales 42 
			 Scotland 73 
			 Northern Ireland 25 
			 Address abroad/unknown 13 
			 All 844 
		
	
	These estimates are based on the 2009-10 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2013-14 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2012 economic and fiscal outlook.
	Reliable estimates are not available at parliamentary constituency level due to greater uncertainties in projections for small geographical areas and small sample sizes.
	The Government are committed to supporting lower and middle income earners by raising the personal allowance to £10,000, and removing the lowest income individuals out of income tax. Decisions on future changes in the personal allowance will be taken as part of the annual Budget process in the context of the wider public finances.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what input (a) Ministers and (b) policy advisers in his Department had into the drafting of HM Revenue and Customs report entitled The Exchequer effect of the 50 per cent additional rate of income tax.

David Gauke: Chapters 1 to 6 of the HM Revenue and Customs report entitled ‘The Exchequer effect of the 50 per cent additional rate of income tax’ were drafted by officials in HM Revenue and Customs. The analysis and the conclusions drawn from that analysis were the work of officials in HM Revenue and Customs and used confidential taxpayer data that neither HM Treasury officials nor Ministers have access to.
	Annex A of the document sets out the Government's costing of the Budget 2012 policy to reduce the additional rate to 45%. The costing is informed by the analysis set out by HMRC in chapters 1 to 6.

Inheritance Tax

John Stevenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many taxable estates between (a) £325,000 and £500,000, (b) £500,000 and £1,000,000 and (c) over £1,000,000 there were in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of estates that claimed (a) agricultural property relief, (b) business property relief and (c) any other relief apart from charitable relief or spouse relief in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the revenue foregone through the claim of taxable estates for (a) agricultural property relief, (b) business property relief and (c) any other relief apart from spouse exemption or charitable relief in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11.

David Gauke: holding answers 23 March 2012
	The number of taxpaying estates with assets of between £325,000 and £500,000 in 2008-09 was around 5,200. The numbers of estates between £500,000 and £1,000,000 and over £1,000,000 for 2008-09 are in the published National Statistics Table 12.3 available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/inheritance_tax/table12-3.pdf
	Data for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will be published to the publication schedule which is available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/updates/annual-plan.pdf
	The numbers of estates above the inheritance tax threshold that claimed agricultural property relief, business property relief and other reliefs in 2008-09 are in the published National Statistics Table 12.2 available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/inheritance_tax/table12-2.pdf
	Data for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will be published to the publication schedule which is available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/updates/annual-plan.pdf
	The estimated cost of agricultural property relief and business property relief for 2010-11 are in the published statistics table 1.5 which is available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-5.pdf
	Based on the same table the cost of these reliefs for 2008-09 and 2009-10 in £ million are given in the following table:
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 
			 Agricultural property relief 215 195 
			 Business property relief 165 200 
		
	
	The estimated cost of other reliefs and allowances where the cost is known for 2010-11 are in the published statistics table B.1 which is available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table-b1.pdf
	Based on the same table the cost of these reliefs for 2008-09 and 2009-10 in £ million are given in the following table:
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 
			 Successive charges relief 10 10 
			 Taper relief on transfers between three to seven years before death 10 20 
			 Double taxation relief neg 5 
			 Woodlands relief neg neg 
			 Conditional exemption for Heritage Property 40 40 
			 Deaths on active service neg neg 
			 Transfers to political parties on death neg neg 
			 Interest-free instalments neg neg

Insolvency

Conor Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how businesses owed money in insolvency cases will receive credit through the new insolvency proceedings as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

Jonathan Djanogly: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Justice.
	As my noble Friend, Lord McNally, indicated on 27 March 2012 during Third Reading of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, in future, insolvency cases will need to proceed without recoverable success fees and after-the-event insurance premiums. These important cases will therefore have to be dealt with on a different basis in order to protect revenue. We are working on a programme for implementing Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill and will set out the details in respect of insolvency cases in due course.

Intellectual Property

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has a role in intellectual property policy development.

David Gauke: The overall policy lead for intellectual property (IP) is held by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills via the Intellectual Property Office. Many Government Departments have an interest in IP, and the policy making process, including collective ministerial consideration of proposals, reflects those interests. The Treasury has a particular interest in reform of the IP framework to promote economic growth and works closely with the Intellectual Property Office in this area. The Treasury also leads on tax policy relating to IP such as the Patent Box and R and D tax credits.

Loans

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what schemes the Government acts as the (a) funder of last resort or (b) lender of last resort.

Danny Alexander: In circumstances where the Government provides financial assistance to a bank or financial institution, this will be reported publicly in documents such as the HM Treasury Annual Report and Accounts, Report under section 231 of the Banking Act 2009 and other disclosures at the appropriate times.

Manpower

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed in interim posts by the Department, or a non-ministerial department or arm's length body controlled by his Department through (a) Penna Consulting, (b) Reed Personnel Services and (c) Capita Resourcing Ltd (trading as Veredus); how many such people have been in post for over a year; and how many are full-time.

Chloe Smith: holding answer 27 March 2012
	Interims sourced through Penna Consulting, Reed Personnel Services and Capita Resourcing Ltd (trading as Veredus) are as set out in the following table dated 27 March 2012:
	
		
			  Penna Consulting Reed Personnel Services Capita Resourcing Ltd (trading as Veredus) 
			 Department, non-ministerial departments and arm's length body 0 2 0 
			 Of which:    
			 In post over a year 0 1 0 
			 Full-time 0 2 0

Official Secrets

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any person employed by (a) his Department, (b) the agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible and (c) any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act.

Chloe Smith: All persons employed by (a) HM Treasury and (b) the agencies and non-departmental bodies for which HM Treasury is responsible are bound by the Official Secrets Act.
	Suppliers to HM Treasury Group and their personnel are required to meet the same confidentiality rules as staff employed by the Treasury. Contractual terms and conditions in both Government Procurement Service awarded frameworks and the contracts that the Department awards directly for goods and services contain the provision that commits suppliers to comply with the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989.

Parliamentary Scrutiny

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the advantages and disadvantages of introducing compulsory pre-legislative scrutiny for future Finance Bills.

David Gauke: The Treasury set out a new, five-stage tax policy making process in the 2010 document ‘Tax policy making; a new approach’. This approach has involved a greater degree of consultation on measures and, for the first time, included a commitment to a period of public scrutiny of draft legislation at least three months before the publication of the following Finance Bill. On 6 December 2011, the Treasury and HMRC published over 400 pages of draft legislation for technical scrutiny ahead of Finance Bill 2012 and received over 450 responses by 10 February.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he will respond to the most recent review of the PAYE Real Time Information project by the Major Projects Authority; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Real Time Information (RTI) Programme has accepted and implemented all the recommendations made by the Major Projects Authority review team. RTI is on track and the pilot started successfully on 11 April 2012, when the first submission was received.

Public Expenditure

Conor Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to use the Whole of Government Accounts to inform policy making.

Danny Alexander: Publication of Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) has provided Treasury with a welcome additional tool to support both fiscal and financial management. The information in the account will allow policy makers to see the long term impact of past financial decisions, which can be factored into future decisions. This will become increasingly useful as a time series builds up.
	The new information in the account is already being used. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) analysed the information available in the 2009-10 WGA, and its implications on sustainability, in its first Fiscal Sustainability Report published in July 2011.

Research: Finance

Esther McVey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will increase publicly-funded research and development for the purposes of promoting growth in the UK economy.

Chloe Smith: In order to promote economic growth in the UK economy, spending review 2010 (SR10) maintained the Department for Business Innovation and Skills ring fenced resource budget for science and research in cash terms from 2011-12 to 2014-15 at £4.6 billion per annum. Within this, the Government committed to real terms increases in spending by the Medical Research Council. SR10 also committed to real terms increases in health research spending from within the Health budget.
	The Ministry of Defence also supports a significant amount of research and development (R and D) in the economy—spending around £1.5 billion to £2 billion per annum on external R and D historically.
	Since SR10, funding decisions to allocate more than £800 million to further support R and D have been made. Decisions on post SR10 public funding for R and D will be a matter for the next spending review.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The number of civil servants retiring in 2010-11 and 2011-12 is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010-11 7 
			 2011-12 8 
		
	
	Fewer than five senior civil servants have retired from HM Treasury since May 2010.
	Fewer than five civil servants retired early in each year.
	It is policy not to disclose further details of staff numbers fewer than five, where to do so would lead to the disclosure of protected personal data.

Sarah Southern

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department have had with Sarah Southern since 12 May 2010.

Chloe Smith: holding answer 18 April 2012
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Smuggling

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he gave to levels of tobacco and alcohol smuggling in advance of his decision to increase duties on tobacco and alcohol.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers considered a number of issues, including the levels and trends of the illicit markets for tobacco and alcohol, as part of the usual Budget decision-making process. The Government take tobacco and alcohol smuggling very seriously. The spending review 2010 announced a £917 million reinvestment package for HMRC to reduce tax losses and bring in additional, revenues of £7 billion a year by 2015, which includes investment in combating alcohol and tobacco smuggling.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many first time buyers in each local authority area have benefited from the zero rate of stamp duty land tax on house purchases below £250,000 since 2010.

Chloe Smith: holding answer 26 March 2012
	HMRC data suggests that 168,827 purchasers had claimed first time buyers’ relief on residential housing transactions below £250,000 by the end of February 2012.
	First-time buyers’ relief was introduced by Finance Act 2010 and was time-limited to two years. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced at the Autumn Fiscal Event that the SDLT relief for first time buyers has been ineffective in increasing the number of first time buyers entering the market. The relief was not extended and came to an end for transactions completed after 24 March 2011.
	The information requested by local authority will be deposited in the Library of the House.

State Retirement Pensions

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the cost of the up-rating of frozen state pensions for Britons living overseas.

Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	We estimate that to pay individuals with frozen-rate state pensions in 2012-13 at rates reflecting what the value would have been had their state pension not been frozen, would cost an extra £655 million (in 2012-13 prices).
	These estimates do not include the cost of paying arrears for previous years where pensions were not increased: estimates are for the 2012-13 tax year only.
	Source:
	DWP estimates based on 5% sample administrative data for 31 March 2011.

Tax Allowances: Married People

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to introduce transferable tax allowances for married couples.

David Gauke: The Government's commitment to bringing forward a proposal to recognise marriage in the income tax system remains firm. We want to show we value commitment and will consider a range of options and bring proposals forward at the appropriate time.

Tax Allowances: Pensions

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total level of tax relief on pension contributions by higher rate taxpayers in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and what estimate he has made of the amount of relief in each of the next three years.

David Gauke: Estimates of the total level of tax relief on pension contributions by higher rate taxpayers from 2010-11 to 2013-14 are given in the following table. They assume an unchanged tax regime after 2011-12. Estimates for 2014-15 are not considered to be reliable.
	
		
			  £ billion 
			 2010-11 11.2 
			 2011-12 12.3 
			 2012-13 13.1 
			 2013-14 13.8

Tax Avoidance

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has made in the Council of the European Union on measures to reduce tax avoidance.

David Gauke: The EU's key focus on tax avoidance is through the work of the Code of Conduct Group. The UK is an active participant in the work of this group. The group reports on its work on a regular basis to Ministers at ECOFIN.

Tax Collection

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) individuals and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises had disputes with HM Revenue and Customs in each year since 1997.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs does not maintain a central record of the number of disputes it has with businesses and individuals. For information on the number of tax appeal cases dealt with by the First-tier Tax Tribunal I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 17 January 2012, Official Report, column 710W, to my hon. friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel).

Taxation

Conor Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to set out how he will implement recommendations put forward by the Office of Tax Simplification.

David Gauke: The Government responded to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) reports on small business taxation at Budget.
	From April 2013 the Government will introduce a new cash basis for calculating tax for small unincorporated businesses. The Government are consulting on the details of the scheme including on extending eligibility to businesses with turnover up to the VAT registration threshold of £77,000. The Government are also consulting on standardising business expenses and will shortly consult on making disincorporation easier.
	The consultation on the new cash basis can be found at:
	http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/downloadFile?contentID=HMCE_PROD1_031991
	In response to the first stage of the OTS review of employee share schemes, the Government will shortly consult on a package of reforms to simplify the four Government approved share schemes.

Taxation: Business

Conor Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to improve HM Revenue and Customs' service standards for the purposes of minimising burdens on small business.

David Gauke: The document 'Making tax easier, quicker and simpler for small businesses' published at Budget 2012 on the HMRC website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/sme-4756.pdf
	sets out the steps the Government and HMRC are taking to improve small businesses' overall experience of the tax system.
	HMRC's core services, particularly call answering and post handling are an acknowledged key component of customer experience. Performance in both these areas has improved significantly from lows in 2010. HMRC has set clear goals for these core services to sustain improvements and to, by 2014-15, achieve 90% of call attempts handled and deal with 80% of correspondence within 15 working days and 95% in 40 working days. HMRC will report against these core service standards each year in its annual report.

Taxation: Families

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on couples with (a) one child aged eight years and (b) two children aged eight to 10 years of changes to (i) working tax credit, (ii) child benefit, (iii) the level of VAT and (iv) housing benefit where their income is (A) £15,000, (B) £20,000, (C) £25,000, (D) £30,000, (E) £40,000 and (F) £50,000 a year.

David Gauke: holding answer 18 April 2012
	No estimate has been made for any of items (i) to (iv).
	The Government published estimates of the distributional impact of the packages of tax and benefit measures announced at the spending review, which can be found at:
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_annexb.pdf
	The impacts published at Budget 2012 can be found at:
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget2012_annexb.pdf
	Estimates of the impact of local housing allowance reforms are available at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/impacts-of-hb-proposals.pdf
	for local housing allowance and
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011.pdf
	for the social sector size criteria.

Taxation: Gaming Machines

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the early introduction of machine games duty on the UK coin-operated industry.

Chloe Smith: The assessment of the impact of machine games duty (MGD) on individuals and businesses is available in the relevant Tax Information and Impacts Note published at Budget 2012. This document is accessible at the HMRC website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/tiin-0738.pdf

Taxation: Gaming Machines

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to protect the UK coin-operated industry following the introduction of machine games duty.

Chloe Smith: The introduction of Machine Games Duty (MGD), replacing AMLD and VAT in most cases, is intended to be revenue neutral for the UK coin-operated industry overall. In addition, the industry will benefit from a number of significant amendments that the Government have made to MGD following feedback received during the consultation on the design of the duty.
	Separately, the Government remain committed to removing unnecessary red tape from leisure industries. They have already made regulatory changes which should deliver £9 million annual benefit to gambling businesses and on 29 March launched a red tape challenge for the sport and leisure sector to help identify further measures to reduce bureaucracy, streamline processes and remove unnecessary regulation.

Taxation: Multinational Companies

Dave Watts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development on the effects on international development policy of changes to controlled foreign company rules;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that changes to controlled foreign company rules do not adversely affect the ability of poor countries to exit aid dependence;
	(3)  if he will conduct a spillover analysis of the effects on developing countries of planned changes to UK tax policy in the 2012 Budget;
	(4)  if he will review the proposed changes to controlled foreign company rules; and if he will publish an impact assessment on the effect of these changes on the tax revenues of developing countries.

David Gauke: Treasury Ministers hold regular conversations with the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), on a wide range of issues regarding developing countries. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
	The Government have not undertaken an assessment of the effect on developing countries of the proposed changes to the CFC rules as these rules are designed to protect the UK Exchequer by preventing artificial diversion of UK profits.
	Any assessment of the impact of CFC reform on developing countries would need to focus primarily on the nature of tax regimes in the developing countries and the interactions of UK headed multinational companies with those tax systems. The strengthening of tax administration in developing countries is a key issue in tax and development and the Government are committed to supporting developing countries access sustainable sources of revenue.
	To help the ability of poor countries to exit aid dependence the Government are working through a variety of channels to deliver high-quality capacity building, improving exchange of tax information, and increasing transparency in the extractives sector to address corruption.

Taxation: Solar Power

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue the Exchequer received from taxation of employees and businesses in the solar PV sector in 2010-11; and what revenue he expects to receive from this source in each financial year between April 2012 and April 2014.

Chloe Smith: The solar photovoltaic (PV) sector pays tax to HM Revenue and Customs under corporation tax, pay-as-you-earn and national insurance contributions, stamp duty land tax, stamp taxes on shares and value added tax. Businesses within the sector also pay national non-domestic rates to local authorities.
	HM Revenue and Customs produce a breakdown of outturn tax receipts by sector for PAYE IT and NICs, corporation tax and VAT. These breakdowns record receipts at broad industry level (based on the ONS standard industrial classification or HMRC standard trade classification). The solar PV industry is not identified as a separate industry within the classification frameworks.
	The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) produce forecasts of tax revenue from individual taxes, but these are not broken down by detailed subsector and are therefore not available for the solar PV sector.

Taxis

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on taxis for (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants between August 2011 and January 2012.

Chloe Smith: The total spend on UK taxis for the period August 2011 to January 2012 was £5,850.59 by Ministers and £42,445.59 by civil servants. These costs are exclusive of VAT.
	Taxi hire is for use by all HM Treasury Group staff for business use only.
	In line with HM Treasury's travel and subsistence policy, taxis should only be used where they will save official time or where a disabled member of staff is travelling to attend an official meeting. However it may be justifiable to use a taxi if an official is carrying classified documents, heavy or bulky luggage or when in an unknown locality as a result of official business. Taxis may also be used when travelling home or to work late at night (after 10.00 pm) or early morning (before 6.30 am) when an alternative method of transport is not available.
	Taxis are defined as a car available with a driver for hire, including a minicab.

Tourism

Mark Menzies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal measures he is taking to support tourism in the north-west.

David Gauke: There are no plans to introduce fiscal measures to support tourism on a regional basis. The north-west will benefit from the Government's strategy for tourism which was published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in March 2011.

Vacancies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior civil service posts in his Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: HM Treasury job vacancies being advertised on the dates requested were as follows:
	
		
			  As at 31 March each year 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 (a) Staff posts 13 5 28 
			 (b) SCS posts 0 1 1 
		
	
	Since May 2010 there has been a freeze on external recruitment. Ministerial approval is now required by the Department to recruit either temporary or permanent staff where the skills do not exist internally.

VAT

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the revenue which will accrue to HM Treasury as a result of changes to VAT rules relating to rental of hairdressers' chairs, as announced in Budget 2012;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the revenue likely to accrue to HM Treasury as a result of changes to the VAT rules relating to holiday caravans, as announced in Budget 2012;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the revenue likely to accrue to HM Treasury as a result of changes to the VAT rules in relation to self-storage, as announced in Budget 2012;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the revenue likely to accrue to HM Treasury as a result of changes to VAT rules relating to (a) the sale of hot food, (b) cold food consumed on the suppliers' premises and (c) sports drinks, as announced in Budget 2012;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the revenue likely to accrue to HM Treasury as a result of changes to VAT rules relating to approved alterations to listed buildings, as announced in Budget 2012;
	(6)  what estimate he has made of the amount which will be accrued to HM Treasury as a result of the withdrawal of charitable buildings from the scope of the VAT reduced rate for the supply and installation of energy-saving materials as announced in Budget 2012.

David Gauke: holding answer 16 April 2012
	Estimates of the revenue likely to accrue to HMT Treasury as a result of changes to VAT rules relating to hairdressers' chairs, holiday caravans, self-storage, the sale of hot food, sports drinks and approved alterations to listed buildings are set out in ‘Annex B—Table of Impact for Individual Measures’ of the HM Revenue and Customs consultation document ‘VAT: Addressing borderline anomalies’, published in Budget 2012:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf
	It is estimated that there will be no additional revenue accrued as a result of changes to VAT rules relating to cold food consumed on the suppliers' premises, but it will protect revenue currently accruing to the Exchequer.
	It is estimated that the amount which will accrue to HM Treasury as a result of the withdrawal of charitable buildings from the scope of the VAT reduced rate for the supply and installation of energy-saving materials will be negligible.

VAT

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of (a) the revenue which will accrue from and (b) the number of businesses affected by his decision to add VAT to the price of food sold at above ambient temperature in Scotland.

David Gauke: No estimate has been made of (a) the revenue which will accrue from and (b) the number of businesses affected, in Scotland, by the change to the VAT rules relating to the sale of hot take-away food announced in Budget 2012.

VAT

Graham Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much VAT was paid on metal collected by registered itinerant metal collectors in each of the last 10 years.

David Gauke: The information is not available.

VAT

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many sixth form colleges which are not related to a school or academy paid VAT on purchases in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on sixth form colleges which are not related to a school or academy of being required to pay VAT on purchases;
	(3)  what plans he has to allow sixth form colleges which are not related to a school or academy not to pay VAT on purchases.

David Gauke: In common with everyone else, including academy colleges, sixth form colleges pay VAT on purchases. Their VAT costs are taken into account within the funding allocation. There are no plans to allow sixth form colleges to waive VAT on purchases or to introduce a scheme to refund the VAT costs.

VAT

Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of introducing a five per cent reduced rate of VAT for passenger transportation in cable-based transport systems carrying fewer than 10 people as announced in the Budget.

David Gauke: The annual cost to HM Treasury as a result of introducing a 5% reduced rate of VAT for passenger transportation in cable-based transport systems carrying fewer than 10 people is estimated to have a nil or negligible impact.

VAT

Simon Hart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his Department will give consideration to abolishing VAT on goods that are designed for use by the disabled or chronically ill.

David Gauke: There are a number of specific VAT reliefs available for certain goods and services supplied for use by chronically sick or disabled persons. These include equipment and appliances designed solely for their personal or domestic use. The application of VAT throughout the EU is governed by agreements between the UK and its EU partners. Under these agreements, we are allowed to keep our existing VAT reliefs but may not extend their scope or introduce new ones.

Vodafone Group

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when was the last time he discussed tax issues with Vodafone contractors.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Welfare Tax Credits

Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) Wrexham constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK which are no longer entitled to tax credits following the introduction of changes to those credits from April 2012.

David Gauke: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			 Estimate of the number of households that will no longer be entitled to tax credits following the introduction of changes to tax credits from April 2012 
			  Number i n 2012-13 (thousand) 
			 Wrexham 1.2 
			 Wales 43.5 
			 UK 852.9

Working Tax Credit

Ann Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many couples with children received working tax credit as of 1 April 2012 in respect of employment of between 16 and 24 hours per week in each parliamentary constituency;
	(2)  how many children lived in households which were in receipt of working tax credit as of 1 April 2012 including a couple working between 16 and 24 hours per week in each parliamentary constituency.

David Gauke: This information is not available.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 72W.
	The information the above referenced answer was compiled using data from the HMRC snapshot publication “Personal Tax Credits: Provisional Statistics—Geographical Statistics”. The latest issue contains data as of December 2011 and can be found here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-dec2011.pdf
	The next publication, containing data as of April 2012, is due to be published on 26 April 2012. Once this issue has been published we will the requested information will be deposited in the Library of the House.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on a carbon savings communities obligation; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The new Carbon Saving Communities Obligation is part of the Energy Company Obligation and will require energy suppliers to provide a range of insulation measures to households in the most deprived communities in England, Scotland and Wales. Suppliers will be required to deliver support worth around £190 million per annum as part of their Overall Energy Company obligation.
	Full details of the policy will be published in due course in the Government's response to the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation consultation.

Climate Change

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2012, Official Report, columns 942-3W, on climate change, what assessment he has made of the trends in global temperature figures.

Gregory Barker: The latest estimates of global average surface temperatures since 1997, produced by the Met Office Hadley Centre, indicate that the trend in global temperatures was 0.09° C per decade over the period 1998 to 2010; The underlying trend in temperature since 1979 was 0.17° C per decade. Most of the warming since the middle of the last century was very likely due to human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases. However natural variations in the climate system, such as changes in solar radiation, volcanic activity and large scale fluctuations in ocean currents, are expected to lead to variances from the long-term underlying trend over relatively short timescales of a decade or so.
	2001 to 2010 was the warmest 10-year period on record, since records began in 1850, while 2005 and 2010 were the two equal warmest individual years.

Climate Change

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the credibility of the (a) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and (b) Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Gregory Barker: We consider that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Assessment Reports provide the most authoritative and comprehensive assessment of climate-change science.
	Its procedures are robust and are designed to minimise error and ensure a balanced and accurate assessment of the science. Mistakes have been very rare. However, following the discovery of an error related to Himalayan glacier loss in 2010, the procedures, structures and communications of the IPCC were assessed independently by the Inter-Academy Council (IAC).
	The governments represented in the IPCC considered the recommendations of the IAC in depth and agreed a number of changes to strengthen its governance and management and its procedures for preparation of reports. It also developed a new communications strategy and a policy on managing conflicts of interest. The UK played a significant role in making these changes which strengthen what was an already robust organisation and put the IPCC on a firm basis for preparation of its 5th Assessment Report.
	The UK remains committed to IPCC as the primary source of information on climate-change science.

Climate Change

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the evidential basis is for the Facts About Climate Change section of his Department's website covering average global temperatures.

Gregory Barker: The evidential basis for the stated increases in global surface temperatures since around 1900 and the 1970s, respectively, come from the analyses of three independent data sets of surface temperature carried out by the Met Office Hadley Centre and Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia and, in the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
	The stated range of possible rises in global temperatures by the end of this century, relative to 1990, are based on information from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report (2007), in relation to future scenarios for greenhouse gas emissions.

Community Energy Saving Programme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 158W, on the Community Energy Saving Programme, 
	(1)  which of the obligated energy companies have made representations to extend the 31 December 2012 deadline for achieving the (a) carbon emission reduction target and (b) community energy saving programme;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to extend the 31 December 2012 deadline for obligated energy companies in respect of (a) the carbon emission reduction target and (b) the Community Energy Saving Programme;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the meeting with representatives of EDF, British Gas, E.on, npower, SSE and Scottish Power on progress in meeting carbon emission reduction targets and CESP obligations on 1 February 2012.

Gregory Barker: I am unable to provide information on which companies may have made representations for the extension of Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) and the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), or the minutes of the meeting held on 1 February 2012, as the release of this information would prejudice the commercial interests of the companies concerned.
	The Government have no intention of extending the deadline for achievement of the targets under CERT and CESP beyond the end of this year.

Energy: Conservation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effect of including (a) F and (b) E-rated boilers in the scope of Community Energy Saving programme (CESP)-eligible measures, specifically the potential effect on multiple measure uplifts of other CESP-eligible measures, such as solid wall insulation.

Gregory Barker: Under the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) legislation only G rated boilers qualify as an eligible measure. The Government have no plans to change the CESP legislation to include other types of boilers and have therefore made no assessment of what the effects of any such change would be.

Energy: Meters

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2012, Official Report, column 600W, on energy: meters, to the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton, whether the smart metering trials being conducted will address all the issues of concern raised by the Public Accounts Committee in its Report of January 2012 on Preparations for the roll-out of smart meters (Sixty-third Report, HC 1617).

Charles Hendry: The Government recognise the importance of rigorous testing and trialling to ensure the smooth introduction of the smart metering arrangements. The smart metering home area networking (HAN) trials referred to in the answer of 20 March 2012, Official Report, column 600W, are specifically designed to test the technical performance of alternative in-home communications technologies, rather than the full range of issues raised by the Public Accounts Committee, including the need for consumer engagement and communications system installation trialling, which are being addressed separately. A number of suppliers are currently carrying out trials testing different aspects of consumer engagement. Building on this, we will be publishing further information on our approach to consumer engagement trialling later this spring. The Government are also currently developing the approach to end testing and trialling.

Fossil Fuels

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has any plans to review the regulation of fracking and other water intensive mining operations following the drought warnings in the South East.

Charles Hendry: There is already a robust regulatory regime in place within the UK to cover current shale gas exploration activities, including hydraulic fracturing (fracking). However the Environment Agency, who have regulatory responsibility for water usage in England and Wales, are starting a detailed environmental review to ensure the coverage is sufficient should current exploration proposals seek to move to the development stage.
	For fracking the actual volumes required are not at all exceptional compared to other industrial activities which routinely take place across the UK. Operators would typically use in total between 10,000 cubic metres and 20,000 cubic metres of water to drill and carry out hydraulic fractures on a well. As a comparison, figures from South East Water's website indicate that the water supply company takes more than 565,000 cubic meters of water from the environment each day and supplies it to around 2.1 million customers in the South East.
	Fracking is carried out for a few days to get the gas flowing, so the technique is only used for the initial production phase and perhaps again later when production levels begin to drop off. Any operator who wishes to abstract water will need a licence from the Environment Agency, who will only authorise additional water abstraction when there is water available and there are no risks posed to the rights of existing abstraction licence holders. The Agency have powers to impose appropriate restrictions where these are justified in the particular context.

Fossil Fuels: Exploration

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the potential risks to public health in Sefton of hydraulic fracturing in the north-west of England.

Charles Hendry: Shale gas operations are licensed by DECC and come under the same rules that govern exploration for conventional hydrocarbons. There is a robust regulatory regime designed to ensure that operations are conducted without harm to public health and safety and the Department and other key regulatory bodies, including the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency are working closely together to ensure effective monitoring and appropriate control of these activities.
	Drilling applications (including any proposals for hydraulic fracturing) go through the local planning application process and are scrutinised by the Environment Agency to make sure there is no risk to the environment. Drilling proposals are also checked by the HSE and DECC prior to any approval.
	The Health Protection Agency are keeping abreast of research into any potential public health risks and will assess the potential impact on health on a case by case basis when approached by local authorities. Potential health impacts will also be considered by the local Director of Public Health. The Health Protection Agency supports the primary care trusts in their investigations.

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many learning providers 
	(1)  have expressed an interest in offering training that leads to a Green Deal adviser qualification;
	(2)  he expects to offer training that leads to a Green Deal adviser qualification.

Gregory Barker: Officials have been in discussion with a large number of potential learning providers, as well as some of the largest awarding organisations in this sector, who are looking to offer Green Deal advice qualifications to potential candidates via their training centres across Great Britain. These discussions are ongoing so it is not possible to say at this stage how many providers will offer training.

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Ofqual-approved awarding organisations he expects to take up Green Deal qualifications.

Gregory Barker: Officials have been in discussion with some of the largest Ofqual approved awarding organisations operating in this sector who are planning to offer qualifications under the Green Deal. These discussions are ongoing so it is not possible to say at this stage how many organisations will take up Green Deal qualifications.

Legal Costs

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 169W, on legal costs, when he expects his Department to make an assessment of the costs of HomeSun and the other respondents.

Gregory Barker: The respondents have not yet served details of the legal costs they are claiming from the Department under the terms of the courts' orders. When they do so, either the parties will agree the amount payable or, if agreement cannot be reached, the respondents' schedule of costs will be referred to a costs judge for assessment, i.e. for the court to determine how much the Department is liable to pay. The Department cannot predict how long this process will take.

Natural Gas: Exploration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what gas shale exploration licences have been (a) granted and (b) applied for in the last three years; and which parliamentary constituencies are covered by each such licence.

Charles Hendry: Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDLs) are not specific to shale gas and do not give permission for operations, but grant exclusivity to licensees in relation to petroleum appraisal and exploration within a particular licence area. One PEDL has been issued during the last three years and this covers an area which straddles four constituencies— Fareham County, Portsmouth North, Havant, and Meon Valley. The agreed Initial Term Work Programme was unrelated to shale gas.

Natural Gas: Exploration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the potential effects of gas shale extraction on the incidence of (a) earthquakes, (b) water contamination, (c) air pollution and (d) soil pollution.

Charles Hendry: All hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations for shale gas are currently suspended pending consideration of the seismic events in Lancashire last April and May. On 17 April, DECC published an independent expert report recommending detailed measures to mitigate the risks of seismic tremors from hydraulic fracturing. The report concludes that minor earth tremors detected in the area of Cuadrilla's Preese Hall operations near Blackpool in April and May last year were caused by fracking and, among other measures, recommends a real time seismic monitoring system and a "traffic light" control regime based on this monitoring. Before Ministers make any decision about resuming fracking, Government are inviting views on the report both from experts and the public. The invitation for comment runs until 25 May 2012.
	Local planning authorities and the Environment Agency make an assessment of the potential environmental impacts of shale gas extraction on a site by site basis and take this into account in planning decisions and conditions and whether to require environmental permits. The Environment Agency is also undertaking a detailed environmental assessment of shale gas extraction in the current financial year to ensure that it has all the information it needs and that regulation is appropriate to protect the environment should shale gas activity develop beyond the exploratory phase. They also have studies under way on the monitoring and control of fugitive emissions of methane from unconventional gas operations and to review the processes and requirements for protecting groundwater from shale gas wells and boreholes.

Ofgem

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff employed by Ofgem received bonuses in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Charles Hendry: 266 members of Ofgem's staff received bonuses in 2010 and 346 received bonuses in 2011.

Ofgem

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the (a) average and (b) total amount paid in bonuses to staff at Ofgem was in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Charles Hendry: Ofgem has provided the following information:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Average bonus Total amount 
			 2010 2,267 602,969 
			 2011 1,489 515,047

Oil: Prices

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with counterparts in OPEC countries on oil prices in the last three months.

Charles Hendry: The functioning of the international oil market was one of the issues discussed at the International Energy Forum's Ministerial meeting in Kuwait which I attended in March. Most OPEC countries were represented at the meeting, and I held bilateral meetings with the representatives of Algeria, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia during the visit.
	The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), also met the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Sharistani in London on 19 April.

Pension Credit

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the number of pensioners in receipt of the pension credit guarantee credit whose energy supplier has fewer than 250,000 customer accounts.

Gregory Barker: The Department, for Energy and Climate change consulted on whether energy supply companies with fewer than 250,000 customers should be required to participate in the warm home discount scheme and the impact of this. The consultation document and Government's response to the consultation can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/warmhome/warmhome.aspx
	Government decided that energy supply companies with fewer than 250,000 customers should be able to participate on the warm home discount scheme on a voluntary basis. None of the energy supply companies with fewer than 250,000 customer accounts decided to voluntarily participate in the warm home discount scheme core group in 2011-12. As a result we are unable to estimate the number of pensioners on pension credit guarantee credit affected.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.

Gregory Barker: Formal verification of compliance with the various obligations set out under the HM Government code of practice on consultation is a matter that is handled internally, in accordance with the obligation under the code to monitor the effectiveness of consultation exercises.
	It is normal practice for my Department to publish all non-confidential responses to formal written consultation exercises, consistent with the code. Publication of consultation responses promotes transparency and provides the opportunity for external scrutiny of the consultation process independent of Government.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the effects of changes to the feed-in tariff on job losses in the energy sector.

Gregory Barker: The Department has not made any assessment of the change in the number of jobs in the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector. However, an assessment of the total number of gross full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs that could be supported by new solar PV installations from calendar year 2011 until 2013-14 was included in the impact assessment published alongside the Phase 2a consultation:
	www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Consultations/fits-review/4320-feedin-tariffs-review-phase-2a-draft-impact-asses.pdf
	Future job estimates are extremely uncertain, and depend on a number of assumptions such as future technology costs, and market growth. DECC is continuously reviewing its estimates in the light of the latest evidence, and will provide updated assessments for the final impact assessment published alongside the Government response to the current consultation.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: During 2010-11, four staff retired, no staff took early retirement in this year. During 2011-12, 11 staff retired, of whom three took early retirement.

Solar Power

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the change in the number of jobs in the solar PV sector in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14.

Gregory Barker: The Department has not made any assessment of the change in the number of jobs in the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector. However, an assessment of the total number of gross full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs that could be supported by new solar PV installations from calendar year 2011 until 2013-14 was included in the impact assessment published alongside the Phase 2a consultation:
	www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Consultations/fits-review/4320-feedin-tariffs-review-phase-2a-draft-impact-asses.pdf
	Future job estimates are extremely uncertain, and depend on a number of assumptions such as future technology costs, and market growth. DECC is continuously reviewing its estimates in the light of the latest evidence, and will provide updated assessments for the final impact assessment published alongside the Government response to the current consultation.

Vacancies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior civil service posts in his Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: On 31 March 2010 DECC had 73 vacancies of which 13 were for senior civil service posts. On 31 March 2011 DECC had 162 vacancies of which 21 were for senior civil service posts. On 31 March 2012 DECC had 185 vacancies of which 17 were for senior civil service posts.

Warm Front Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2012, Official Report, column 1002W, on the Warm Front scheme, how much funding allocated for the Warm Front scheme in 2011-12 was (a) spent, (b) committed to expenditure and (c) unspent.

Gregory Barker: The original budget for Warm Front and associated fuel poverty expenditure for 2011-12 was £110m. During 2011-12 total expenditure was almost £108 million with a further £0.6 million committed but not yet paid. Therefore, of the original Warm Front budget £1.4 million was unspent.
	The budget was increased by £35 million during the year as a result of £25 million allocated to support the completion of outstanding works from 2010-11 with a further £10 million provided by the Department of Health. We also received agreed rebates from Carillion Energy Services of nearly £14 million. These rebates were used to offset expenditure in 2011-12 bringing a total reported expenditure for the year to £94.4 million. Against the new budget of £145 million for 2011-12, £50.6 million was unspent.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 173W, on the warm home discount scheme, when he expects Ofgem to conduct a review of suppliers' spending under the scheme for 2011-12.

Gregory Barker: The Warm Home Discount Regulations 2011 require Ofgem to determine suppliers' spending in each scheme year as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the scheme year. Therefore we expect Ofgem will undertake a review of suppliers' spending in year one of the scheme over the coming months.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many customers have been contacted by his Department in relation to eligibility for the warm homes discount scheme since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: The Warm Home Discount scheme was launched on 1 April 2011.
	The Government contacted all of the over 896,000 pensioners eligible or potentially eligible for financial support under the Core Group of the Warm Home Discount scheme by letter between November 2011 and February 2012. Nearly 600,000 of these letters informed customers that they were automatically eligible for the Core Group discount of £120 in 2011-12 and the discount would be credited to their account by their energy supplier that winter.
	Government also wrote to nearly 300,000 customers asking them to contact a dedicated Government call centre if they met the eligibility requirements for the scheme. Well over 60,000 customers contacted the call centre, met the eligibility requirements and were referred to their energy supplier to receive the discount of £120.
	Energy suppliers are also obligated to find and manage contacts with other groups of vulnerable households through the broader group and legacy spending elements of the scheme.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many customers contacted by his Department in relation to eligibility for the warm homes discount scheme have (a) applied for assistance under the scheme, (b) had their claim accepted and (c) had their claim rejected.

Gregory Barker: The Government contacted all of the over 896,000 pensioners eligible or potentially eligible for financial support under the Core Group of the warm home discount scheme by letter between November 2011 and February 2012.
	Nearly 600,000 of these letters informed customers that they were automatically eligible for the core group discount of £120 in 2011-12 and the discount would be credited to their account by their energy supplier that winter.
	Government also wrote to nearly 300,000 customers asking them to contact a dedicated Government call centre if they met the eligibility requirements for the scheme. Well over 60,000 customers contacted the call centre, met the eligibility requirements and were referred to their energy supplier to receive the discount of £120. We will publish the final number of discounts credited later in 2012.
	Energy suppliers are also obligated to find and manage contacts with other groups of vulnerable households through the broader group and legacy spending elements of the scheme.

Wind Power

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of long-term environment damage done to moorland, peat and boggy areas by the infrastructure required for the installation of wind turbines.

Charles Hendry: Assessment of the potential long-term impact on sites of ecological and geological importance such moorland, peat and boggy areas of infrastructure for the installation of wind turbines is carried out as part of the planning and consenting process.
	For development requiring an environmental impact assessment, such as commercial scale wind farms, applicants are required to set out any impacts on designated sites of ecological and geological conservation importance, and where necessary, steps to mitigate impacts, as part of the planning/consent application. Such environmental impact assessments are informed by consultation with, and assessed by, statutory consultees, for example Natural England and the Environment Agency.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Bill of Rights

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings he has had with the Chairman or members of the Commission on a Bill of Rights since its establishment; who attended any such meeting; what the purpose of each such meeting was; and whether a record of what was said at any such meeting was made.

Nicholas Clegg: With ministerial colleagues I have had two formal meetings with the Commission on a Bill of Rights since its establishment.
	The first meeting took place on 1 December 2011, when the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), the Minister for Europe, the right hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), the Minister of State, my noble Friend, Lord McNally and I met the chair and all of the then Commissioners except Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC. The purpose of the meeting was an update on work to reform the European Court of Human Rights, following the commission's provision of its interim advice on the subject to the Government, and to provide an opportunity for the commission to provide an update on its future work plans. A short record was made of what was said at the meeting.
	The second meeting took place on 22 March 2012 when the Justice Secretary, Lord McNally and I met the chair and all of the current Commissioners. The purpose of the meeting was to allow further updates on court reform and the commission's future work plans. As before, a short record was made of what was said at the meeting.
	I was accompanied by my officials at both of these meetings.
	Additionally I had a meeting with one Commissioner, Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC, on 4 May 2011 and a telephone conference with three Commissioners.

Official Hospitality

Ian Lavery: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for which events held at Chevening (a) he and (b) the Liberal Democrat Party have made a payment to the public purse; and what the total amount reimbursed was in each such case.

Nicholas Clegg: None.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  which of his Office's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.
	(2)  whether his Office collects the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations.
	(3)  whether his Office accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Mark Harper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

Sarah Southern

Ian Lavery: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings (a) he, (b) his special advisers and (c) his officials have had with Sarah Southern since 12 May 2010.

Nicholas Clegg: I have not held any meetings with Sarah Southern since 12 May 2010. My special advisers and private office officials have also not held any such meetings.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants: Relocation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of civil servants likely to move from London and the South East to regions in the North in each of the next five years.

Francis Maude: The spending controls on Government property are driving down the cost and size of the Government estate. Unless Cabinet Office approves otherwise, leased properties are surrendered as break options and expiries occur. This initiative has cut over 900,000 square metres of property from the estate and saved over £210 million since May 2010. As the Government estate reduces in size, retained buildings will be utilised more intensively wherever possible.
	The Government are particularly focused on rationalising property in London, in addition, the relocation of civil servants outside of London continues to be considered, among other options, to increase the efficiency of the Government's estate. However it is up to individual Departments to determine any location specific demand outside London.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what representations he has received on a tick box system for students to register to vote, to be administered by the university on their behalf.

Mark Harper: The Government have not received any such representations.
	However, the Government are working with organisations representing students to establish ways that the registration process can be as simple and accessible as possible, particularly as we implement Individual Electoral Registration.

Freedom of Information

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for what reason he has not yet published updated guidance on private e-mail accounts and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 February 2012, Official Report, column 387W.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office is signed up to the code of practice on consultation, which was published in 2008, and my Department bases its consultation guidance to policy officials on the code and the guidance provided by the Better Regulation Executive in BIS at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/bre/consultation-guidance
	Since 2007 no Cabinet Office consultations have been verified externally.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department collects the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office is signed up to the code of practice on consultation, which was published in 2008, and bases its consultation guidance to policy officials on the code and the guidance provided by the Better Regulation Executive in BIS at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/bre/consultation-guidance
	The Cabinet Office does not collect the IP addresses of respondents to its consultations.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Francis Maude: Para 6.1 of the code of practice on consultation states that:
	“All responses (both written responses and those fed in through other channels such as discussion forums and public meetings) should be analysed carefully.”
	The Cabinet Office would consider anonymous contributions providing they were seen as valid, unique and relevant to the specific consultation.

Public Expenditure

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department allocated as resource or capital spending for (a) current grants and subsidies to domestic and overseas private sector organisations and (b) current grants to local government in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; how much he plans to allocate in (A) 2012-13, (B) 2013-14 and (C) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Details of resource and capital grant programmes are set out each year in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts, and details of all transactions over £25,000 (including grants) are published on a monthly basis.
	Plans for 2012-13 to 2014-15 are not yet finalised.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Action for Employment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts her Department held with A4e in each of the last five years; and what the value was of each contract.

Damian Green: The Home Office including its Executive agencies has held no contracts with A4e in the last five years.

Association of Chief Police Officers

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she last met the Association of Chief Police Officers; and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Nick Herbert: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Aviation: Security

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times iris scanners at airports have broken down in the last 12 months.

Damian Green: IRIS gates were reported as faulty or broken down on 573 occasions between March 2011 and February 2012. Between March 2010 and February 2011, IRIS gates were reported as faulty or broken down on 945 occasions.
	These reported fault figures reflect various levels of severity and a fault would not necessarily result in the closure of a gate. Any fault with gates has no impact on full checks being carried out on passengers—if any part of the process of carrying out checks fails, the gate(s) in question is closed until full service is restored. In addition officers continually monitor the gates to ensure they are operating effectively, to deal with any alerts and to stop any misuse of gates.
	For most of the year 2011-12, there were 10 IRIS gates operating across eight locations, this has now reduced to seven IRIS gates across five locations.

Circulars: Home Office

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 November 2011, Official Report, columns 420-21W, on Home Office circular, and with reference to Home Office circular 007/2012, when she plans to finalise proposals for a revised Home Office circular 46/2004.

Nick Herbert: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for East Lothian (Fiona O'Donnell), on 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 17W.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish the results of the recent trial of interviews for student visa applicants from certain countries.

Damian Green: holding answer 19 April 2012
	From December 2011 to February 2012 entry clearance officers in 14 overseas posts interviewed a sample of tier 4 student applicants. The results and possible merits of publication are currently being analysed.

Immigration: Romania

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to monitor applications for entry to the UK from people resident in Bacau, Romania.

Damian Green: Romanian nationals have the right to free movement and are not subject to visa requirements. They are subject to a requirement to obtain work authorisation from the UK Border Agency before they commence employment in the United Kingdom, but they are not required to obtain this authorisation prior to entry to the UK.

Police

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Association of Chief Police Officers' partnership with the Association of Police Authorities and the Government in leading and co-ordinating the direction and development of the police service in England.

Nick Herbert: I continue to work constructively with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities on the important changes that the Government are making to deliver reforms in policing.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications have been received for the post of Police and Crime Commissioner in each police force area.

Nick Herbert: Candidates who wish to stand as a police and crime commissioner will be required to declare their intention to the relevant returning officer in October.

Police: Bureaucracy

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her answer of 18 July 2011, Official Report, column 531W, on police: bureaucracy, what recent progress has been made by the Reducing Bureaucracy Programme Board on police bureaucracy.

Nick Herbert: The joint Home Office and Association of Chief Police Officers Reducing Bureaucracy Programme Board continues to make significant progress in restoring police professional judgment, improving the management of risk and removing unnecessary paperwork. The Home Office will be publishing more information shortly on the work under way to cut police red tape, saving up to 3.3 million police officer hours' annually.

Police: Haringey

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many (a) police officers and (b) police staff left Haringey Borough Operational Command Unit in each quarter since January 2009;
	(2)  how many (a) uniformed, (b) CID and (c) all officers at the rank of sergeant and above have requested a voluntary transfer from Haringey Borough Operational Command Unit in each quarter since January 2009.

Nick Herbert: The requested information is not held centrally by the Home Office.

Police: Private Sector

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration she has given to bringing forward proposals to prevent police officers at the rank of Assistant Chief Constable or higher from taking up related posts in the private sector once they have left the service.

Nick Herbert: Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary (HMIC) report “Without fear or favour”, published in December 2011, identified issues in relation to post-service employment of police officers.
	The Home Office is working closely with the HMIC and the Association of Chief Police Officers in considering the findings from this report, and the inspectorate will conduct a follow-up review during the course of the year.

Police: Sick Leave

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many days were lost to sickness leave among police officers in each borough operational command unit of the Metropolitan police in each quarter since January 2009;
	(2)  how many days were lost to sickness leave amongst (a) police officers and (b) police staff in Haringey Borough Operational Command Unit in each quarter since January 2009.

Nick Herbert: The latest available information shows the total contracted hours lost to sickness among police officers in each basic command unit of the Metropolitan police, for 2008-09 by quarter and 2009-10 and 2010-11 by half-year. These figures can be seen from the table. Also shown in the second table is the total contracted hours lost to sickness among police staff in Haringey basic command unit of the Metropolitan police, 2008-09 to 2010-11 for the same periods.
	
		
			 Total contracted hours lost to sickness among police officers in each basic command unit of the Metropolitan police, 2008-09 to 2010-11 by quarter (1,2,3) 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q2 Q4 Q2 Q4 
			 Barking and Dagenham 5,495 6,291 7,962 7,227 19,596 21,686 16,319 15,422 
			 Barnet 7,454 9,272 9,757 10,011 31,773 26,248 22,075 16,588 
			 Bexley 5,086 5,474 5,500 4,978 16,898 16,133 11,064 12,411 
			 Brent 9,945 12,605 11,619 9,454 10,887 13,290 15,064 12,974 
			 Bromley 8,028 10,259 9,793 5,974 10,893 11,763 12,450 15,726 
			 Camden 12,100 12,622 13,442 11,470 9,473 11,963 25,564 22,106 
			 Central Services 139,794 134,009 167,105 142,558 280,330 332,856 282,234 293,584 
			 City of Westminster 21,012 21,704 24,239 18,635 16,406 20,692 36,833 39,195 
			 Croydon 8,390 9,469 13,850 10,873 16,220 17,281 22,073 20,373 
			 Ealing 9,051 7,348 10,571 9,027 16,685 15,842 22,311 18,426 
			 Enfield 10,262 8,917 13,171 9,566 8,049 7,115 19,653 22,887 
			 Greenwich 9,366 8,796 12,693 10,370 19,763 20,368 12,794 15,592 
			 Hackney 9,301 8,936 7,686 7,850 15,972 18,099 16,171 18,281 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 7,153 6,701 7,239 7,191 17,459 14,762 12,055 11,512 
			 Haringey 6,844 5,803 6,802 7,950 21,221 21,018 14,752 16,128 
			 Harrow 4,608 5,435 7,430 5,178 15,439 17,287 9,877 12,304 
			 Havering 5,461 3,859 7,908 7,736 17,308 16,435 11,443 15,500 
			 Heathrow 7,871 6,356 7,240 6,505 6,145 5,671 15,125 10,672 
			 Hillingdon 7,260 6,818 7,370 7,635 26,125 28,249 14,046 18,850 
			 Hounslow 9,080 7,584 6,668 6,408 10,043 9,454 12,377 10,862 
			 Islington 6,722 9,253 8,068 7,448 18,629 17,334 17,266 19,371 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2,104 6,154 6,727 8,236 14,603 14,771 12,702 17,038 
			 Kingston upon Thames 12,925 2,665 2,930 4,005 20,053 22,120 5,035 8,203 
			 Lambeth 10,655 14,291 14,874 15,845 13,813 17,474 29,124 26,541 
			 Lewisham 5,884 11,241 11,459 9,568 10,821 9,935 18,390 18,181 
			 Merton 11,185 5,171 4,656 4,638 16,292 21,388 11,172 9,472 
		
	
	
		
			 Newham 8,232 14,274 15,488 8,716 21,442 27,132 25,773 26,089 
			 Redbridge 3,536 8,159 7,789 6,991 16,653 21,807 15,217 13,713 
			 Richmond upon Thames 5,965 4,349 6,314 5,771 20,119 22,696 8,268 7,202 
			 Southwark 11,392 10,277 9,883 7,680 15,476 14,720 19,197 27,670 
			 Sutton 5,016 3,719 6,100 3,501 17,876 15,923 9,004 8,984 
			 Tower Hamlets 10,411 9,151 10,427 8,399 23,301 25,826 15,362 24,979 
			 Waltham Forest 10,962 11,832 10,221 8,134 41,068 32,434 19,603 18,746 
			 Wandsworth 7,957 8,662 8,661 6,628 10,638 10,095 9,645 15,566 
			 (1) From 2009-10 onwards, figures for the number of sickness leave among police officers in each basic command unit in the Metropolitan police is collected bi-annually instead of quarterly. (2) Data are provisional and have not been confirmed with forces. (3) Care should be taken in interpreting these figures without comparative data on the numbers of officers affected. Source: Home Office using data received from police forces via the Annual Data Requirement. 
		
	
	
		
			 Total contracted hours lost to sickness among police staff in Haringey basic command unit of the Metropolitan police, 2008-09 to 2010-11 by quarter (1,2,3) 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q2 Q4 Q2 Q4 
			 Haringey 2,072 4,026 5,194 4,916 7,338 6,183 8,878 7,569 
			 (1) From 2009-10 onwards, figures for the number of sickness leave among police staff in each basic command unit in the Metropolitan police is collected bi-annually instead of quarterly. (2) Data are provisional and have not been confirmed with forces. (3) Care should be taken in interpreting these figures without comparative data on the numbers of officers affected. Source: Home Office using data received from police forces via the Annual Data Requirement.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from her Department since May 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Since May 2010 352 civil servants at grades AA to grade 6 and three senior civil servants have retired from the Home Office (including its Executive agencies).

Vetting

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent changes her Department has made to the criminal record checks regime.

Lynne Featherstone: Following the Government's review of the Vetting and Barring scheme in 2010, and that carried out by the Government's Independent Adviser for Criminality Information Management concerning the Criminal Records Bureau's arrangements, we are implementing a number of changes to the criminal records regime. Most of these changes are to be introduced under the Protection of Freedoms Bill, which is currently before Parliament.
	The main changes provided for in this Bill are:
	integration of the functions of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) to form the Disclosure and Barring Service;
	scaling back the arrangements determining those who will be subject to a barring check;
	provision for a criminal record certificate to be sent only to the applicant, enabling an applicant to challenge information before it is disclosed;
	introduction of a provision to allow an applicant to request an independent review of whether information is relevant for disclosure;
	introduction of a new updating service to enable a system of online checking, with the consent of the applicant, effectively removing the need for multiple criminal records certificate applications;
	the introduction of new statutory guidance governing the disclosure of police information held locally.
	Subject to Royal Assent, it is expected that these changes will be implemented between 2012 and 2014.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Empty Property: Greater London

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent progress he has made on bringing long-term empty domestic dwellings back into use in the (a) Richmond-upon-Thames and (b) Kingston local authority area.

Andrew Stunell: In the first two years of the New Homes Bonus the number of empty homes in Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames fell by 496, generating a total bonus of £1.2 million.
	We have also committed £150 million of direct funding to bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing. On 5 March we announced almost £70 million of funding for 95 projects will bring over 5,600 properties back into use across the country. Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames applied as part of the South West London Housing Partnership who, subject to contract, were awarded £2.7 million to bring 204 empty homes back into use.

Empty Property: Non-domestic Rates

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of empty hereditaments that were liable for non-domestic rates in each region in each of the last five years.

Bob Neill: holding answer 16 April 2012
	Details of the number of empty hereditaments that were liable to non-domestic rates in the last five years are not collected. Data are collected on (a) the number of hereditaments that are claiming empty property relief and (b) the number of hereditaments that are empty, although there are timing differences between the two data collections which mean they are not strictly comparable.
	Information on the number of hereditaments, by each region in England, claiming empty property relief as at 31 December in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, the only years for which data are available, are contained in the following table. Due to variations in the criteria to qualify for empty property relief, data between years are not strictly comparable.
	
		
			 Number of hereditaments claiming empty properly relief as at 31 December 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 North East 8,600 7,600 11,800 10,000 
			 North West 30,300 27,600 40,300 38,400 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 19,200 17,100 27,000 27,800 
			 East Midlands 15,200 12,200 19,600 18,600 
			 West Midlands 24,300 18,200 26,400 25,000 
			 East of England 19,700 15,000 20,600 18,400 
			 London 33,500 20,800 35,500 34,800 
			 South East 20,500 15,800 26,200 27,000 
			 South West 15,100 13,600 21,500 20,700 
			 England 186,400 147,900 228,900 220,700 
		
	
	The large variation in the number of hereditaments claiming empty property relief between 2007 and 2008 and between 2008 and 2009 are due to changes in the rules in respect of the level of relief granted for empty properties.
	Information on the number of hereditaments, by each region in England, reported as being empty as at 31 March in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, the only years for which data are available, are contained in the following tables. Due to variations in the criteria to qualify for empty property relief, data between years are not strictly comparable.
	
		
			 Number of hereditaments reported as empty at 31 March 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 North East 10,900 10,200 12,100 12,500 
			 North West 38,500 39,700 48,100 46,100 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 21,500 25,300 28,100 29,100 
			 East Midlands 19,800 18,900 21,800 22,400 
			 West Midlands 31,200 31,900 34,700 34,400 
			 East of England 22,200 21,400 22,400 24,100 
			 London 42,600 40,100 43,500 45,700 
			 South East 30,200 29,700 32,700 33,200 
			 South West 19,800 19,400 24,100 21,500 
			 England 236,700 236,600 267,500 269,000 
		
	
	From these figures a broad estimate of businesses paying business rates on empty properties can be inferred as follows:
	
		
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 North East 2,300 2,600 300 2,500 
			 North West 8,200 12,100 7,800 7,700 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 2,300 8,200 1,100 1,300 
			 East Midlands 4,600 6,700 2,200 3,800 
			 West Midlands 6,900 13,700 8,300 9,400 
			 East of England 2,500 6,400 1,800 5,700 
			 London 9,100 19,300 8,000 10,900 
			 South East 9,700 13,900 6,500 6,200 
			 South West 4,700 5,800 2,600 800 
			 England 50,300 88,700 38,600 48,300 
		
	
	On the broader issue of empty property, I also refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 13 December 2010, Official Report, columns 61-2WS.

Fire Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the potential effect of reductions in spending on fire and rescue services on firefighter safety.

Bob Neill: I refer the hon. Member to my answers to him of 14 December 2010, Official Report, column 677W and 5 July 2011, Official Report, column 1152W.

Fire Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the potential effect of spending reductions in his Department on firefighter training.

Bob Neill: My Department has made no assessment. Firefighter training is a matter for fire and rescue authorities as they are the employers, and it is for them to decide appropriate spending on training provision. I also refer the hon. Member to my letter to him of 6 December 2010, a copy of which is available in Library of the House, which outlines how fire and rescue authorities can make sensible savings without impacting on the quality and breadth of services offered to their communities.

Hayes McKenzie Partnership

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the value is of any contracts (a) his Department and (b) the Planning Inspectorate has with the Hayes McKenzie Partnership; when any such contracts commenced; and when they finish.

Bob Neill: Our procurement records show that my Department and the Planning Inspectorate have no contracts with Hayes McKenzie Partnership.

High House Production Park

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that the local community is represented on the Board of High House Production Park in Thurrock.

Bob Neill: As a registered charity, High House Production Park is now outside the public sector and therefore no longer the responsibility of the Department for Communities and Local Government. The founding board members are in the process of recruiting the remaining eight board members. In the Candidate Brief issued to interested applicants invitations are expressly invited from candidates representing local community interests.

High House Production Park

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on how much money was transferred to the Board of Trustees of the High House Production Park on the closure of the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation.

Bob Neill: No money was paid to the Board of Trustees of the High House Production Park by the Development Corporation on its closure. However, over the financial year to 31( )March 2012 just over £5.5 million had been paid by the Corporation to the Production Park, nearly all of which was in order to fund the Development Corporation's agreed contribution to the construction of the National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills and the creation of Artist Studios on the site.

High House Production Park

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on who has been appointed trustees of the High House Production Park in Thurrock; by whom they were appointed; and for how long.

Bob Neill: The Board of High House Production Park currently comprises four founding members: Lord Tony Hall, (Board Chair), Mr Paul Shadavarian QC, and Mr Will McKee, the Chair, and Mr Niall Lindsay, the Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer, of the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation. The appointments were made by the Development Corporation and were a prerequisite for the application to the Charities Commission to secure charitable status which was conferred on the Production Park in January 2012. Under the charity's articles, Thurrock council is also a founding member, and has the automatic ability to nominate one of their officers to join the board. The four founding members are on appointment terms that vary between one and three years. Under the charity's articles the board will eventually comprise 13 members including the existing appointees.

Housing

Nick Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many units qualifying for the New Homes Bonus were student accommodation in 2010-11; and what the estimated cost is over the full six-year period of the New Homes Bonus paid for such accommodation. [R]

Grant Shapps: New homes bonus is paid in respect of net additions to housing stock, and is calculated according to the council tax banding of new supply. The particular proposed uses for new supply are not collected, and it is not therefore possible to provide a precise figure for the number of units qualifying for new homes bonus which were student accommodation, or the associated costs.
	As a guide to increasing levels of student accommodation, the number of dwellings qualifying for an exemption from council tax on the grounds of being a hall of residence provided predominantly for the accommodation of students increased by some 4,600 between September 2010 and September 2011 (DCLG Statistical Release—Local Authority Council Taxbase 2011, published November 2011).
	Increases in dedicated student accommodation will have a beneficial effect on the wider housing supply, by taking pressure off private rented accommodation.

Local Government Finance

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what per capita grant from central Government funds was allocated to each local authority area in Surrey, combining the per capita grants from both local authorities in two tier local authority areas, in each of the last three years.

Bob Neill: The following tables show local authority income from government grants per head, in Surrey, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11:
	
		
			 Local authority income from government grants in Surrey, 2008-09 
			 £ per head 
			  District Surrey county Surrey police authority Total 
			 Elmbridge 62 780 102 945 
			 Epsom and Ewell 81 780 102 963 
			 Guildford 78 780 102 960 
			 Mole Valley 66 780 102 948 
			 Reigate and Banstead 60 780 102 943 
			 Runnymede 77 780 102 960 
			 Spelthorne 75 780 102 957 
			 Surrey Heath 74 780 102 956 
			 Tandridge 65 780 102 947 
			 Waverley 67 780 102 949 
			 Woking 87 780 102 969 
		
	
	
		
			 Local authority income from government grants in Surrey, 2009-10 
			 £ per head 
			  District Surrey county Surrey police authority Total 
			 Elmbridge 61 784 104 949 
			 Epsom and Ewell 73 784 104 961 
			 Guildford 76 784 104 964 
			 Mole Valley 65 784 104 953 
			 Reigate and Banstead 61 784 104 949 
			 Runnymede 82 784 104 970 
			 Spelthorne 72 784 104 960 
			 Surrey Heath 69 784 104 957 
			 Tandridge 63 784 104 951 
			 Waverley 60 784 104 948 
			 Woking 90 784 104 978 
		
	
	
		
			 Local authority income from government grants in Surrey, 2010-11 
			 £ per head 
			  District Surrey county Surrey police authority Total 
			 Elmbridge 57 805 104 966 
			 Epsom and Ewell 66 805 104 975 
			 Guildford 82 805 104 991 
			 Mole Valley 55 805 104 964 
			 Reigate and Banstead 59 805 104 968 
			 Runnymede 75 805 104 984 
			 Spelthorne 69 805 104 978 
			 Surrey Heath 71 805 104 980 
			 Tandridge 60 805 104 969 
			 Waverley 60 805 104 969 
			 Woking 85 805 104 994 
			 Source: Department for Communities and Local Government revenue outturn (RO) returns 
		
	
	Each local authority receives funding from government grants directly to that authority, but also receives funding received through Surrey county and Surrey police authority.
	The definition of central Government grant used here is the sum of formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed non-domestic rates), specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (ie revenue grants paid for council's core services), Area Based Grant, and Police Grant.
	These figures do not reflect the income from council tax, nor do they illustrate the revenue spending power of local authorities.

Local Government Finance: Disclosure of Information

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to improve the accessibility, timeliness and presentation of local authority budget data.

Bob Neill: It is primarily for local authorities themselves to ensure citizens and others can access their budget and spend data. In support of this, we have issued the Code of Recommended Practice for local authorities on data transparency. The code enshrines three principles of transparency—demand-led, open and timely—while setting out the minimum data and information authorities should publish, including all expenditure of £500 and over. As part of the open and timely principles it recommends authorities should publish in machine-readable formats and where practical seek to publish in real time.
	Every principal local authority in England—apart from Nottingham city council—have opened their books, and are publishing spend over £500.
	The Government recently consulted on allowing local authorities to provide information they are currently required to supply alongside council tax bills in an electronic format. A summary of the response report is expected to be published on the Department's website in due course.

Local Government: Fees and Charges

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much income each local authority in England raised from fees and charges in each year since 2009-10; and what estimate he has made of the amount each will receive from these sources in each of the next two financial years.

Bob Neill: holding answer 16 April 2012
	I have today placed in the Library of the House a table showing income from sales, fees and charges in 2009-10 and 2010-11, for each local authority in England.
	Estimates of sales, fees and charges in the next two financial years are not yet available.
	The figures show that income from sales, fees and charges across England fell from £12.9 billion in 2009-10 to £12.6 billion in 2010-11. To place this in context, charging rose from £9.0 billion in 2001-02 to £12.9 billion in 2009-10.
	In relation to future estimates, as I indicated in my answer of 7 December 2011, Official Report, column 342W, Ministers have been quite clear that we view increasing charges on local residents as an inappropriate way of making sensible savings. Instead, councils should be saving money through better procurement, cutting fraud, more joint working and using transparency to drive out waste.
	This stance on charging is different from the last Administration, when DCLG Ministers actively encouraged councils to increase charges. Reflecting this new position, we have repealed Whitehall planning guidance issued by the last Administration that cajoled councils into pushing up parking charges. The Localism Act 2011 has also repealed provisions allowing the imposition of new charges for the collection of household bins.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what service standards apply to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service; and what estimate has been made of the cost of meeting them;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects on the level of service provided by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service of changes to its funding;
	(3)  what representations he has received on potential risks associated with the change in funding provided to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service in recent settlements from his Department.

Bob Neill: Fire and rescue authorities are required to meet their responsibilities as set out in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. It is for each fire and rescue authority to set service standards for their fire and rescue service through an Integrated Risk Management Plan subject to consultation with the local community.
	Ministers and officials have met Members of Parliament, the Association of Metropolitan Authorities including Fire Authority Members and officers of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority to discuss a wide range of matters.
	I also refer the hon. Member to my letter of 6 December 2010 to the hon. Member for Derby North (Chris Williamson), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, which outlines how fire and rescue authorities can make sensible savings without impacting on the quality and breadth of services offered to their communities.

Non-domestic Rates

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the localisation of business rates on discretionary rate relief for charities; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The Government's response to the consultation on business rates retention, published on 19 December, made clear that there will be no changes to the current system of reliefs, or to the criteria that determine eligibility.
	The Government's response is available on the DCLG website and can be viewed at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/resourcereviewgovtresponse

Planning Inspectorate: Noise

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the names are of the companies and individuals who advise the Planning Inspectorate on noise.

Bob Neill: The Planning Inspectorate does not use paid external companies or individuals to advise them on noise. It is up to the parties to an appeal to provide evidence on each case and for the inspector to reach a decision based on the evidence presented in that case. The Planning Inspectorate operates to a statutory process agreed by Parliament.

Public Houses

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department is taking steps to monitor the account taken of representations from a local community to operate a public house under the provisions of the Localism Act 2011 by the Planning Inspectorate when considering a planning appeal from a property developer.

Bob Neill: The Government have no plans to monitor such representations.
	Rather than setting up a separate monitoring process, planning legislation already requires decision makers to have due regard to representations made on a development proposal.
	Through the Government's planning reforms, local communities now have the opportunity to identify buildings and areas that they value in their own neighbourhood plans. These plans form part of the statutory framework which the Planning Inspectorate must have regard to when considering planning appeals.

Public Houses

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications to save public houses from development have been made by local residents under the provisions of the Localism Act 2011.

Bob Neill: The Community Right to Bid provisions in the Localism Act 2011 will give local voluntary and community groups and parish councils the chance to nominate land or buildings, including community pubs, to be listed as “assets of community value”. The regulations bringing these provisions into force have not yet been laid in Parliament and, consequently, no nominations have yet been made.
	Once the scheme has come into effect, if an asset has been listed then, when the owner decides to put the asset up for sale, a local community group can trigger a six month moratorium during which time the owner cannot enter into a relevant disposal of the asset. This will allow community groups more time to put together a business plan and raise the capital to bid to take over the asset.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: A total of 138 staff have retired since May 2010, of which 128 were civil servants, and 10 were senior civil servants.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: A total of 144 staff retired in the 2010-11 year, of which 97 were early retirements. A total of 10 staff retired in the 2011-12 year, of which seven were early retirements.
	As part of the spending review settlement, the DCLG Group is making a collective 33% real terms saving against its running costs by 2014-15. This equates to savings of over £200 million by 2014-15. In addition, the Department will save a further £190 million from the closure of the Government offices for the regions, taking overall savings on administrative running costs to 42% across the DCLG Group by 2014-15.
	These savings reflect the coalition Government's agenda of decentralisation, ending the micromanagement of local government, the abolition of regional government, and the broader need to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration.

Social Rented Housing

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department plans to seek the view of the housing and investment market when consulting about the future funding of social housing through the Real Estate Investment Trust.

Grant Shapps: The Department for Communities and Local Government and Her Majesty's Treasury have jointly launched a public consultation on the potential for Real Estate Investment Trusts to support investment in the social housing sector.
	The consultation was launched on 4 April 2012 will close on 27 June 2012. The consultation paper can be accessed at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/consultreit
	We would welcome responses from all interested parties, including those from the housing and investment sectors.

WALES

Alcoholic Drinks

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the total spending on wine and other alcoholic beverages was by her Department in the last six months.

David Jones: £212.12.

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many investigations into breaches by civil servants of the Civil Service Code of Conduct occurred in her Department in each month from May 2010 to March 2012.

David Jones: None.

Email

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what her policy is on the period for which e-mails sent and received by (a) Ministers, (b) officials, and (c) special advisers in her Department are retained; and whether such e-mails are recoverable from the IT systems in her Department after that period.

David Jones: The retention period relating to e-mails sent or received by anyone in the Wales Office, including Ministers, officials, and special advisers, would be dependent upon the nature of any individual e-mail.
	E-mails held in individuals' accounts do not necessarily form part of the Department's record keeping in their own right. However, e-mails which are significant enough to form part of the information to be held within an electronic or paper file, for example as part of a policy-making process, are subject to the Department's Record Retention and Disposition Schedules, and would be retained for the length of time the file is retained.
	The Public Records Act 1958 [PRA] requires Government Departments to destroy any of their records which are not selected for permanent preservation. The Act does not specify when such destruction must take place but MOJ has Record Retention and Disposition Schedules (RRDS) setting out how long to retain each type of record. The length of time for which any record is held by the Wales Office is determined by two criteria: the business need of the area holding the record; and any legislative requirements.
	The Wales Office is provided with its IT and e-mail services by the Ministry of Justice. E-mails which are not transferred to corporate files are automatically deleted after a period of three years. If deleted before that by the user, e-mails are still stored elsewhere for a period of 30 days before being deleted from the system entirely. After that any retrieval would be dependent on the type of backup which is performed.

Travel

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many journeys (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department made by (i) train, (ii) coach and (iii) Government car in an official capacity in each of the last six months.

David Jones: The Wales Office has offices in both London and Cardiff which requires travel between both locations.
	The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Ministers Officials 
			 Train 69 395 
			 Coach 0 0 
			 Government car (1)4 0 
			 (1 )Ministers in the Wales Office have an allocated Government car from Monday to Thursday inclusive. In addition to this, a Government car has been used on four occasions.

Vodafone Group

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  how many contracts Vodafone has been awarded by her Department in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what contracts her Department has with Vodafone.

David Jones: None.

Vodafone Group

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times the Permanent Secretary in her Department has met Vodafone representatives in the last 12 months.

David Jones: The Head of the Wales Office is a Director, not a Permanent Secretary. She has had no contact with Vodafone in the last 12 months.

EDUCATION

Adult Education: Hearing Impairment

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assistance is available to parents and guardians of deaf children to undertake adult education courses in sign language and other skills related to the care of their child.

Sarah Teather: It is for local authorities to decide what support they will make available for parents or guardians of deaf children who wish to study sign language. This could include support for the costs associated with further education courses or direct support to the family through the local hearing impairment service.
	Some families may also be able to claim disability living allowance, carer’s allowance or other state benefits to help with the care of their child.
	The Department for Education funded the I-Sign project between 2009 and 2011. As part of this project the National Deaf Children's Society developed an online family sign language curriculum that is specifically intended to support families to communicate using British Sign Language:
	www.familysignlanguage.org.uk

Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department encourages organisations in receipt of departmental funding for work with families to discuss the process, function and significance of registration with both new and prospective parents.

Sarah Teather: The Department for Education funds a wide range of family support services, including a number of organisations which are working to promote both mothers and fathers being involved in their children's lives, including Families Need Fathers and the Centre for Separated Families.
	The recent Family Justice Review recommended that
	“Government should find means of strengthening the importance of a good understanding of parental responsibility in information it gives to parents”.
	The Government have accepted this recommendation and, as part of this work, will be considering the importance of information around birth registration, since birth registration is the simplest way for unmarried fathers to acquire parental responsibility.

Official Secrets

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether any person employed by (a) his Department, (b) the agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible and (c) any private firms contracted by his Department is bound by any part of the Official Secrets Act.

Tim Loughton: All civil servants employed by the Department and its Executive agencies are bound by the Official Secrets Act. Employees of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are not covered by the Official Secrets Act but would be covered by a code of conduct applicable to their organisation.
	Private firms contacted by the Department are not bound by the Official Secret Act but are under contractual obligations to ensure the security of confidential information. The extent of those obligations depends on the sensitivity of the information.

Pre-school Education: Redditch

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many families in Redditch constituency will receive free early education for the poorest two-year-olds in each year of the spending review period.

Sarah Teather: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced in the autumn statement on 29 November 2011, Official  Report, columns 799-810, that the early education entitlement for two-year-olds will be expanded to around 260,000 children. The Government intend to take a phased approach to the implementation of the new entitlement. The 20% most disadvantaged two-year-olds will be eligible from September 2013. From 2014, the entitlement will be extended to around 40% of two-year-olds.
	We estimate that around 1,100 two-year-olds in Worcestershire, and 200 in the area covered by Redditch borough council, are likely to be eligible for the entitlement in 2013. We are considering eligibility criteria for the second phase, and will consult in due course.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.

Tim Loughton: No departmental consultations have been externally verified since 2007.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department collects the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations.

Tim Loughton: The Department does not collect the IP addresses of consultation respondents.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Tim Loughton: The Department does accept anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: The figures requested are as follows:
	
		
			 Department for Education staff age retirements, May 2010 to March 2012 
			  Civil servants Senior civil servants 
			 May 2010 to March 2011 4 0 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 8 0 
			 Total 12 0 
		
	
	Under the terms of the CS Compensation Scheme there are no early retirements; all staff irrespective of age receive a compensation severance payment.

Schools: Surrey

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  which schools in Woking constituency have received funding from the pupil premium;
	(2)  how many pupils have attracted payment of the pupil premium in (a) Woking constituency and (b) Surrey.

Sarah Teather: The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 and allocations have so far been made for the 2011-12 financial year only. For 2011-12 the pupil premium funding is £488 per pupil in respect of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM), and for children in care who have been continuously looked after for at least six months and £200 per pupil for those whose parents are serving in the armed forces.
	In 2011-12 the total pupil premium allocation for schools in Woking was £596,000, in respect of 1,370 eligible pupils. This includes pupils 1,120 eligible for the deprivation premium, and 249 pupils eligible for the service premium.
	In 2011-12 the total pupil premium allocation for Surrey local authority was £5,944,000, in respect of 12,740 eligible pupils. This includes pupils 11,371 eligible for the deprivation premium, 422 eligible for the looked after premium and 945 eligible for the service premium.
	The allocation for each school in the Woking constituency for 2011-12 is shown in the following table. It is not possible to present at school level eligible looked-after children, service children and FSM pupils recorded on the Alternative Provision census. This is because of the way we collect data for these pupils and for data protection reasons.
	
		
			 Woking 
			     Deprivation pupil premium (2) 
			 URN LA  E stab School name Number on roll (1) Number of pupils eligible for the deprivation pupil premium Allocation for the deprivation pupil premium 2011/12 (3 ) (£) 
			 135894 1128 North West Secondary Short Stay School * * * 
			 124935 2004 Wyke Primary School 193 20 9,760 
			 124998 2270 Brookwood Primary School 182 22 10,736 
			 124999 2271 Byfleet Primary School 204 28 13,664 
			 125000 2274 Knaphill School 325 15 7,320 
			 125001 2275 Maybury Infant School 99.6 13 6,344 
			 125002 2278 St John's Primary School 192 46 22,448 
			 125003 2279 West Byfleet Infant School 179 8 3,904 
			 125022 2341 The Hermitage Junior School 348 29 14,152 
			 125032 2373 The Oaktree School 268.6 20.6 10,053 
			 125040 2391 Pirbright Village Primary School 414 19 9,272 
			 125047 2406 The Knaphill Lower School 270 9 4,392 
			 125080 2489 Horsell Village School 267 13 6,344 
			 125081 2491 West Byfleet Junior School 240 12 5,856 
			 125082 2492 New Monument School 202 41 20,008 
			 125084 2496 Sythwood Primary School 395 78 38,064 
			 125105 2926 Broadmere Community Primary School 197 65 31,720 
			 125112 2933 Kingfield School 110 28 13,664 
			 125117 2941 Westfield Primary School 220 57 27,816 
			 125118 2942 Beaufort Community Primary School 246 38 18,544 
			 125119 2943 Goldsworth Primary School 420 17 8,296 
			 125150 3042 St Mary's CofE Controlled Primary School, Byfleet 343.7 37 18,056 
			 125201 3416 Horsell CofE Aided Junior School 357 19 9,272 
			 125213 3458 The Marist Catholic Primary School 310 16 7,808 
			 125226 3488 St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary School 211 6 2,928 
			 125238 3920 St Dunstan's Catholics Primary School, Woking 420 18 8,784 
			 131906 3934 Pyrford Church of England Aided Primary School 418 28 13,664 
			 135382 3942 Barnsbury Primary School 364 51 24,888 
			 125266 4457 The Bishop David Brown School 531 94 45,872 
			 125270 4462 Woking High School 1,198 95 46,360 
			 125302 5402 St John the Baptist Catholic Comprehensive School, Woking 986 46 22,448 
			 125314 5414 The Winston Churchill School A Specialist Sports College 1,531 91 44,408 
			 125461 7023 The Park School * * * 
		
	
	
		
			 125477 7062 Freemantles School * * * 
			 x = Less than 5 pupils or a percentage based on less than 5 pupils or an allocation amount based on less than 5 pupils. * = Allocations for these schools are not included as they are either a maintained special school or PRU. The premium for these establishments is held with the local authority (please see the conditions of grant). (1) Full-time equivalent (FTE) pupils in year groups R-11 (where national curriculum year groups do not apply pupils aged 4 to 15). For all those aged 5 and over includes sole or dual main registrations only. In Pupil Referral Units, FTE pupils aged 4 (all registration types) and headcount of pupils aged 5 to 15 (sole or dual main registrations as well as pupils who are registered with other providers and further education colleges). (2) Full-time equivalent (FTE) number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in year groups R-11, (where national curriculum year groups do not apply pupils aged 4 to 15). For all those aged 5 and over includes sole or dual main registrations only. In Pupil Referral Units, FTE pupils aged 4 (all registration types) and headcount of pupils aged 5-15 (sole or dual main registrations as well as pupils who are registered with other providers and further education colleges) known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals. 3 Each FSM eligible pupil will attract £488 through the pupil premium. For pupils in maintained primary and secondary schools funding will be passed to schools via the local authorities. Academies will receive funding from the YPLA. For pupils in maintained special schools and PRU's funding will be allocated to local authorities to decide whether to pass on funding to the education setting or lo hold back funding to manage centrally for the benefit of those pupils it has responsibility for. Notes: 1. Includes middle schools as deemed. 2. Includes primary academies. 3. Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. 4. Includes maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools and non-maintained special schools. 5. The number of eligible looked-after children and FSM pupils recorded on the Alternative Provision census are not included in school level tables (although are eligible for the pupil premium) as they are taken from local authority returns. 6. The number of service children are not provided at school level due to data protection issues.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2011, Official Report, column 228W, on the third sector, how much direct funding his Department provided to each civil society organisation it funded in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how much it plans to provide in 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: Civil society organisations play, and will continue to play, a significant role in developing and delivering services for children, young people and families. The sector received money from DFE through a number of routes, including funding through arms length bodies, through the money we gave to local authorities and from services commissioned from schools.
	Information about DFE's direct spend with civil society organisations, for the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 has been placed in the House Libraries.
	We do not have comprehensive information on funding to organisations in financial year 2012-13 as in many areas decisions have yet to be taken. We have made grants through our VCS Prospectus (announced on 25 February 2011) and indicative figures for each funded organisation for 2012-13 can be found in the press notice on the DFE website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/a0074906/voluntary-and-community-organisations-awarded-60-million-grant

Vacancies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior Civil Service posts in his Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education and its predecessors had advertised vacancies as follows:
	
		
			 As at 31 March each year Advertised vacancies below senior civil service 
			 2010 21.5 
			 2011 20 
			 2012 4 
		
	
	SCS vacancies are not managed centrally and managed moves are quite often used to meet the business needs of the Department. No central record is held on the number of SCS vacancies advertised.

Vocational Guidance

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 6, on NEETs, what the evidential basis is of his estimate that 700,000 plus people will benefit from face-to-face careers guidance; what the nature and frequency of such advice will be; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such advice.

Tim Loughton: The 700,000 figure relates to the number of face to face advice sessions that the National Careers Service is able to give to adults aged 19 and over each year. This is set out in “The Right Advice at the Right Time”, a policy document produced by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, summarising all that Government and its partners are doing to ensure young people and adults get the advice they need on education, training and work. The document can be accessed at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/further-education-skills/national-careers-service-for-england
	Recognising that teachers are best placed to know what support their pupils need, we are giving schools responsibility for securing access to independent and impartial careers guidance. The Department for Education recently published statutory guidance to support schools in planning for the introduction of this new duty from September. This includes a clear expectation that schools should secure access to independent face-to-face careers guidance where it is the most suitable support for young people to make successful transitions, particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds or those who have special educational needs, learning difficulties or disabilities.

Young People: West Midlands

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training in (a) Redditch constituency and (b) the west midlands.

Tim Loughton: ‘Building Engagement, Building Futures’ sets out the Government's strategy to increase participation in education or training and address the challenge of young people who are NEET. This includes radical reforms to education and vocational training; for raising the compulsory education and training age to 18 by 2015; for supporting the most vulnerable through the Youth Contract; and financial support for young people who need help with the costs of continuing their education and training.
	While the Department is providing the framework and funding to increase participation, responsibility and accountability lies with local authorities. They know the needs of young people in their area and are responsible for making sure that there is sufficient, suitable education and training provision to meet those needs, and to support young people to participate. The Department is providing a record £7.5 billion to make available sufficient education and training places for every 16 to 18-year-old who wants one, while support for those NEET is funded from within the £2.3 billion being provided through the Early Intervention Grant.
	In addition, £126 million is being invested over the next three years to provide a new programme of support for disengaged 16 to 17-year-olds. Public, private and voluntary organisations have been invited to bid for funding on a regional basis, working closely with the local authorities to identify the needs of young people in the local area.
	The following table sets out the funding allocations made available to Worcestershire and the west midlands.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Worcestershire West midlands 
			 16-19 education and training (2011-12 academic year) 60.3 663.2 
			 Early Intervention Grant (2012-13 financial year) 20.5 263.3 
			 Intensive support for 16 to 17-year-olds (over three years) (1)— 14.5 
			 (1) Pending outcome of bidding process 
		
	
	The information above is not available at constituency level.

Youth Clubs: Closures

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many youth centres have closed since May 2010;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the funding given by businesses to youth projects in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Tim Loughton: Information on the number of youth centres that are open or how much private funding they secure is not collected by the Department. Local authorities are accountable to their councillors and to local people for how they prioritise and allocate their available resources.
	The Government have, however, secured £141 million over 2011-13 to complete a network of 63 high quality Myplace youth centres in disadvantaged areas across the country. These will be hubs for a wide range of services, transforming the local offer for young people and in many cases hosting National Citizen Service teams.
	The Government are also putting in place new support to scale up and improve business support for the youth sector; a grant of £320,000 to April 2013 has been awarded to a consortium led by Business in the Community which began work in January 2012.

Youth Services: Sponsorship

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the potential effects of limiting tax relief on charitable giving on his plans for business sponsorship of youth services.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	At Budget 2012 the Government announced they would introduce a cap on unlimited income tax reliefs to ensure that those on higher incomes cannot use them excessively.
	The Government will explore with philanthropists ways to ensure that this new limit on uncapped reliefs will not impact significantly on charities that depend on large donations to carry out their charitable activities.
	A consultation document on the detail of the policy, including the implications for philanthropic giving, will be published in the summer.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Single-tier State Pension

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to bring forward his proposals for a single-tier state pension.

Steve Webb: As announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), in his Budget, I can confirm that we will bring forward further detail on the single tier state pension in a White Paper later in the spring, with final decisions on the detailed implementation of the policy being taken at the next spending review.

Annuities

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he (a) has commissioned and (b) plans to commission any research into the operation of the annuity purchase process and the payment of fees with or without the prospective annuitant's permission.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	The Government (Department of Work and Pensions) have previously conducted qualitative research in 2007-08 into information needs at retirement (Department for Work and Pensions, Research Report No 515). This focused on annuitisation decisions and the wide range of attitudes and behaviours among annuitants. The Government used this and broader surveys and research from other external organisations about the annuity purchasing processes to inform its work on the operation of the open market option.

Children: Maintenance

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many cases with outstanding child maintenance arrears has the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission taken a decision not to pursue collection of child maintenance arrears.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many cases with outstanding child maintenance arrears has the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission taken a decision not to pursue collection of child maintenance arrears.
	The discretion not to pursue a sum of arrears of child maintenance is contained in Section 29 of the Child Support Act 1991. This discretion is exercised in respect of arrears that it is decided will never be collected. This is only in exceptional cases where very particular sets of circumstances, which mean this is the most appropriate course of action available, apply. No precise figures are available for the number of instances where the power has been applied in this way.
	The power is also exercised on a temporary basis in a much larger number of cases where circumstances mean that collection is not appropriate at a particular juncture. Whenever a decision is made not to collect, either on a temporary or permanent basis, the debt concerned is put into the category ‘suspended’ on our computer system. The number of suspended cases is not routinely collected and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will establish a residuary body to manage old child support debt with powers to negotiate or factor debts to optimise returns as recommended by Sir David Henshaw in 2006.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will establish a residuary body to manage old child support debt with powers to negotiate or factor debts to optimise returns as recommended by Sir David Henshaw in 2006.
	If clients, having had their current statutory scheme case closed, and being unable to make a family-based arrangement, choose to open a future scheme case, any arrears will be jointly managed and collected alongside their on-going new scheme maintenance liability.
	There are no plans to divide responsibility between organisations for the delivery of the collection of these arrears.
	We are seeking to ensure that as large a proportion of the arrears as possible as collected while clients are on the current schemes, through improving the effectiveness of our collection and enforcement activity. We are also seeking to ensure that where arrears are transferred to the new scheme, these arrears are genuinely owed by the non-resident parent and are wanted by the parent with care.

Consultants

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on efficiency and reform in Government corporate functions through shared service centres, HC 1790, which management consultants were involved in (a) setting up and (b) operation of the shared service centre project for his Department.

Chris Grayling: PricewaterhouseCoopers and CAP-Gemini were involved in the initial set up and scoping activity for the Shared Services Project, and since the initial set up, the operation has been run by internal civil servants.

Disability Living Allowance

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have had an award of disability living allowance which was determined by an appeal tribunal subsequently withdrawn by the Department; and for what reasons any such withdrawals were made.

Maria Miller: The Department does not hold statistics on how many people have had an award of disability living allowance which was determined by an appeal tribunal and subsequently withdrawn.
	A decision of a first-tier tribunal cannot simply be withdrawn by the Department. Where the Secretary of State believes a first-tier tribunal's decision to be wrong in law, he can apply for leave to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
	If the Department does not challenge the decision through the Upper Tribunal an award may change where there has been a relevant change of circumstances since the tribunal's decision had effect. This commonly happens where there has been a deterioration and the customer is entitled to more benefit, but, of course, a customer's condition may improve such that he is no longer entitled to DLA or the level of DLA awarded by the tribunal. The benefit is not being withdrawn but adjusted in response to changed circumstances.

Disability: Abuse

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with disability organisations on recent trends in the levels of abuse and harassment of disabled people.

Maria Miller: I have met a range of organisations, including ACPO as well as ministerial colleagues on the matter of disability hate crime.
	We know from research that disability hate crime is hugely under-reported. Figures published by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in 2010 show that 1,569 disability hate crimes were recorded. This is an increase of 21% compared to reports made in 2009. This is a positive step as it suggests that more people are coming forward to report incidents. We know that there is still more to do, as some disabled people's organisations tell us that half of all disabled people have experienced hate crime at some point in their lives.
	We are working hard with voluntary sector partners, including disabled people's organisations, to encourage more victims to come forward and report disability hate crime. We have developed and published with Disability Rights UK ‘The Let’s Stop Disability Hate Crime’ Guidance which will enable disabled people to recognise hate crime and report it. I have also visited Blackpool Centre for Independent Living's Disability First project and saw first-hand how partnership working can successfully tackle disability hate crime.
	It is important that we work with disabled people and the wider community to change negative attitudes and behaviours towards them. That is why changing attitudes and behaviours was one of the key areas we asked about as part of the ‘Fulfilling Potential’ consultation on developing a new cross-government disability strategy. We have received over 500 responses from disabled people and their organisations and we will be using their practical ideas on changing attitudes and combating hate crime to formulate the strategy which will be published later this spring.

Employment

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to encourage people into work.

Chris Grayling: The Department is aware of the challenges facing jobseekers in the labour market and has put in place a substantial menu of support to help them move into work.
	Jobcentre Plus currently offers claimants a comprehensive menu of help including skills provision and job search support. This is bolstered by a number of Get Britain Working measures including: work experience placements, Work Clubs and support for those looking to start their own business known as the new enterprise allowance.
	The Work programme provides tailored support to those claimants furthest from the labour market. Claimants with more challenging barriers to work can be referred early. Providers are paid on the results they achieve, and are paid more for supporting the hardest to help into sustained work.
	The Youth Contract, launched on 2 April, will provide nearly half a million new opportunities for young people including: wage incentives for employers taking on a claimant from the Work programme; incentives to take on apprentices; and extra work experience placements. Extra funding is being made available to support the most vulnerable 16 and 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training, into learning, an apprenticeship or a job with training.

Employment and Support Allowance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff of his Department are tasked with work on the employment and support allowance; and how many of these have been in post for less than six months.

Chris Grayling: The average number of full-time equivalent staff tasked with working on the employment and support allowance (ESA) from April 2011 to February 2012 was 5,577.
	Unfortunately we are unable to determine how many of these staff have been in post for less than six months, as we do not capture this information in relation to ESA activities.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department expects to have data on the number of (a) appeals and (b) successful appeals against employment and support allowance fit for work and work-related activity group decisions.

Chris Grayling: The Department regularly publishes official statistics on employment and support allowance (ESA) and the work capability assessment (WCA). The latest publication was released in January 2012 and can be found on the departmental website here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php? page=esa_wca
	The next provisional release date is 24 April 2012.
	Table 3 of the publication mentioned above covers the number and outcomes of appeals heard on fit for work decisions in the initial functional assessment. Information on appeals heard on work-related activity group decisions is not available. Note that information of the number of claimants found fit for work who have lodged an appeal that has not yet been heard is not available.

Employment Schemes: Offenders

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to increase employment opportunities for released prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The Government have undertaken a major overhaul of the employment support individuals receive when they leave prison.
	As of March this year, all prison leavers making a claim to jobseeker's allowance will immediately get access to specialist support from the Work programme on their release from custody to help them into employment as soon as possible.

Foreign Workers

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of jobs which will be created overseas by companies contracted to deliver the universal credit IT system; how much funding from the public purse will be allocated to support these jobs; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: No existing British jobs are being sent overseas by the Department for Work and Pensions and no personal data are held or can be accessed outside the UK.
	Ministers have already intervened to stop Government-controlled jobs being sent abroad and are determined to continue encouraging companies to invest in the UK to create jobs.
	The Department holds contracts with a number of global IT suppliers. Many subcontractors started using overseas staff under the previous Government. We are currently examining how jobs previously off-shored could be moved back to the UK in future.
	Work undertaken abroad involves the development of IT systems only. Those service providers with off-shore sites are security checked and certificated to a high level. UK-based teams rigorously inspect and test IT developed offshore.

Foreign Workers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress he has made in reducing the level of offshoring of jobs from his Department.

Chris Grayling: All proposals to carry out work internationally submitted to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by its suppliers are required to demonstrate compliance with a number of key criteria, before they are formally considered for approval by the Department. These criteria include evidence that the proposal is financially beneficial to the taxpayer and that it meets stringent security standards. In assessing financial benefit to the taxpayer, the Department considers the impact on UK jobs.
	Since May 2010, the Department has only accepted proposals from its suppliers to carry out work internationally that meet these criteria, it has not accepted any proposals that would result in the loss of existing jobs within the UK.

Housing Benefit

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proposals the Government is considering on the use of housing benefit to help contribute towards the rental costs of those living in supported housing within the social and voluntary sectors; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: We are grateful to all those who took time to provide nearly 450 responses to last year's consultation, many of which were comprehensive and detailed. These are informing our considerations as we look to take these reforms forward.
	The housing benefit rules already recognise the extra costs of providing supported housing. As we said in the consultation paper, these reforms are not a cost cutting exercise but look to target help better at where it is needed most.

Housing Benefit

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the grouping of distinct areas for the calculation of the local housing allowance.

Steve Webb: Local housing allowance rates are set within Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA) which are determined by the Rent Officers. They are intended to reflect claimants' household composition and the areas in which they live and access services such as health, education, recreation, banking, shopping and transport.
	Rent Officers collect evidence on rents in these areas and then set rates at the 30(th) percentile for properties up to a maximum of four bedrooms. This means that around a third of the rental properties in the BRMA would normally be available to housing benefit claimants except in the areas where the local housing allowance rates have been capped.
	A BRMA must contain residential premises of a variety of types, to ensure that, the local housing allowance rates for the area are representative of the rents that a landlord might reasonably be expected to obtain in that area.
	LHA rates are published on the directgov website:
	https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx
	so that claimants are made aware of the appropriate rates for their area in advance.

Jobcentre Plus

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what long term plans he has for the role of Jobcentre Plus (a) alongside Work Programme providers and (b) in provision of support for the unemployed.

Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
	(a) There are currently no plans to change the role of Jobcentre Plus in regards to contracted out provision.
	(b) Jobcentre Plus currently offers claimants a comprehensive menu of help including skills provision and job search support. This is bolstered by a number of Get Britain Working measures, also delivered by Jobcentre Plus, including: work experience placements; apprenticeships, and support for those looking to start their own business known as the new enterprise allowance. There are currently no plans to change this.

Motability

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Motability has advised him of how many Motability adapted cars have been repossessed while people are awaiting the outcome of their disability living allowance appeal.

Maria Miller: Motability have not advised the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), how many Motability adapted cars have been repossessed while people are awaiting the outcome of their disability living allowance appeal.
	This information is not held by the Government as Motability are an independent charitable organisation, wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme. Questions relating to scheme policy on withdrawal of vehicles should be directed to Motability and can be sent to: Declan O'Mahony, Director, Motability, Warwick house, Roydon road, Harlow, Essex CM19 5PX.

Pay

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department places restrictions on executive salaries in companies undertaking contracts with the Department.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions does not place any restrictions on executive salaries on any supplier to the Department. Beyond any statutory requirements relating to employee pay it is matter for individual businesses to determine such remuneration issues.

Personal Income

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of individuals in households with net equivalised incomes below 50 per cent of average where at least one person in the family was in employment (a) before and (b) after housing costs in each of the last 30 years.

Chris Grayling: The following table shows the number of individuals living in households with less than 50% of contemporary median equivalised household income, before housing costs (BHC) and after housing costs (AHC), where at least one person is working, 1996-97 to 2009-10. Data are not available on a consistent basis before 1996-97.
	
		
			 Million (individuals) 
			  BHC AHC 
			 1996-97 2.0 3.3 
			 1997-98 2.3 3.6 
			 1998-99 2.2 3.5 
			 1999-2000 2.3 3.5 
			 2000-01 2.2 3.5 
			 2001-02 2.2 3.3 
			 2002-03 2.3 3.4 
			 2003-04 2.3 3.5 
			 2004-05 2.3 3.5 
			 2005-06 2.5 4.0 
			 2006-07 2.5 4.0 
			 2007-08 2.7 4.3 
			 2008-09 2.8 4.6 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 2.5 4.3 
			 Notes: 1. Estimates of the number of individuals living in households with incomes below various income thresholds are published in Households Below Average Income Series (HBAI, 2009-10). This uses household income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size using various thresholds of low income poverty. This analysis looks at individuals in households using a threshold of the 50% of contemporary median equivalised disposable household income. 2. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 3. Figures have been presented on a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for after housing costs they are. 4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 5. Comparisons of household income and expenditure suggest that those households reporting the lowest incomes may not have the lowest living standards. For this reason, compositional and percentage tables using the 50% of median thresholds are italicised in the HBAI publication to highlight the greater uncertainty. The more standard measure of relative poverty is the 60% of median threshold. 7. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. 8. Figures are for the United Kingdom from 2002-03 onwards. Earlier years are for Great Britain only. 9. Numbers of individuals have been rounded to the nearest 100,000. 10. The classification that indicates whether someone in a family is in employment uses the International Labour Organisation economic status classification. No economic status data is available for earlier years as the relevant information was not collected before 1996-97. 11. Further statistics on the population in low income can be found in the National Statistics report Household Below Average Income available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP

Personal Independence Payment

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons his Department proposes to consider 16 to 18-year-olds as working age adults for the purposes of the personal independence payment.

Maria Miller: Personal independence payment will be introduced for young people from age 16 as we believe this is the age at which young people should make a claim in their own right and be assessed against adult criteria. This reflects the present situation under DLA.
	The assessment criteria are being designed to meet the needs of people aged 16 or over, and assessors will be well equipped to deal with young adults including 16 to 18-year-olds.
	At age 16 young people have a choice about whether to remain in full-time education at school or college, take up an apprenticeship or work-based learning, or a full-time job together with part-time education or training. A claim to personal independence payment should also be made from this age as it will help to support the aspirations of young people as they start to move to adulthood and make decisions about other aspects of their lives.

Personal Independence Payment

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department plans to take to take account of the needs of young people with (a) serious health conditions and (b) disabilities in the personal independence payment (i) independent medical assessment and (ii) decision-making process.

Maria Miller: We are currently working through the details of the development of personal independence payment and we have every intention of being sensitive to the needs of young people and will ensure processes are designed with their needs in mind.
	Processes will be informed by consultation with disabled young people and representative organisations. A sub-group of the Implementation Development Group, who are our primary mechanism for consulting with national and local organisations that represent a broad range of disabled people, are specifically looking at the issues of children and young people. We will use their ideas to inform the design of personal independence payment wherever we can.

Personal Independence Payment

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the personal independence payment meets the needs of cancer patients (a) aged 16 to 25 years and (b) of all ages.

Maria Miller: Through personal independence payment we want to focus support on disabled people who face the greatest barriers and costs to participating in society. As such entitlement to the benefit will not be based on the nature of an individual's health condition or impairment but on the impact that these have on their day to day lives. As with DLA, PIP is a benefit to support those with long term conditions.
	The assessment for personal independence payment will consider an individual's ability to complete 11 key everyday activities. The criteria are being developed to fairly take account of all impairments and health conditions, including cancer, and to be applicable to all people of working age, including those aged 16-15.
	We are developing our proposals on the assessment in collaboration with a group of independent specialists in health, disability and social care and are doing so in an iterative and co-productive way. This includes testing our proposals as they are developed and seeking views of disabled people and disability organisations, including organisations representing individuals suffering from cancer.
	We are committed to ensuring that good provision is in place for individuals with fluctuating conditions and are therefore proposing that the assessment should consider ability to carry out activities over a period of time, we are suggesting a year, we will consider impacts where they apply on over 50% of days in this period.
	We recognise the importance of getting the development of the assessment right, and we want to hear further views of disabled people and disability organisations. That is why we are currently consulting on the second draft of the assessment criteria. I would welcome your views as part of this.

Personal Independence Payment

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons shaving and make-up application have been excluded from the personal independence payment assessment definition of grooming.

Maria Miller: The criteria for personal independence payment have not been designed to cover all areas of everyday life, or include all of the activities where disabled people face barriers or cost. Doing so would create a very lengthy and complicated assessment. They are instead intended to, as a whole, act as an overall proxy for the impact of impairments, allowing us to identify and focus support on individuals who face the greatest barriers to living independently. Grooming is one of a range of activities considered in the assessment. We believe that the current definition of grooming—focusing on brushing teeth, washing and brushing hair—help assess this impact in a clear, simple and measurable way.
	We recognise the importance of getting the development of the assessment right and want to hear further views of disabled people and disability organisations. That is why we are currently consulting on the second draft of the assessment criteria. I would welcome your views and those of your constituents as part of this. The consultation documentation can be found at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/pip

Personal Independence Payment

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the likely level of personal independence payment eligible to a blind person who (a) can and (b) cannot read Braille; and what the reasons are for any difference between those figures.

Maria Miller: Entitlement to personal independence payment will be based on the extent to which an individual's health condition or impairment affects their day to day lives, not on the nature of the health condition itself.
	The assessment for PIP will consider individuals' ability to carry out a series of key everyday activities. Priority in the benefit will be based on how well people can carry out these activities and the degree to which they need help from other people, or to use aids and appliances. By developing the assessment in this way we aim to ensure that the award is based on individual circumstances and treats people with all impairment types fairly.
	As every individual will be affected differently by their health condition or impairment and will be assessed on their personal circumstances, it is not possible to make the estimates requested.

Personal Independence Payment

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the definition of social engagement in personal independence payment assessments will focus exclusively on social engagement that is impaired by cognitive or intellectual difficulties.

Maria Miller: Following our first consultation on the initial draft of the PIP assessment criteria we made a series of changes. One of these was adding the additional activity “social engagement”. This was introduced to focus on individuals' ability to interact with others in an appropriate manner, establish relationships and understand body language. Although the assessment is designed to take into account the impact of impairments, regardless of their type, this activity primarily focuses on the mental, intellectual and cognitive aspects of social engagement.
	We recognise the importance of getting the development of the assessment right and we want to hear further views of disabled people and disability organisations. That is why we are currently consulting on the second draft of the assessment criteria. We have already had valuable feedback following consultation meetings we have had to date and I would welcome your views and those of your constituents as part of this consultation. The consultation documentation can be found at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/pip

Personal Independence Payment

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that personal independence payment tests are assessed on an individual basis and implemented taking into account a claimant's specific disability.

Maria Miller: The assessment for personal independence payment is being developed in collaboration with an independent group of specialists in health, social care and disability, including disabled people. We are designing the assessment to target support on those disabled people who are most impacted by their health condition or impairment. Entitlement will not be based on the nature of the impairments individuals have.
	To ensure that the assessment will focus on individual circumstances, we will consider evidence from the claimant and from professionals involved in supporting them. In most cases, it will also involve a face to face consultation between the claimant and an independent health professional. This will provide an opportunity for individuals to fully explain the impact that their condition or impairment has on their daily lives.
	We recognise the importance of getting the development of the assessment right, and we want to hear further views of disabled people and disability organisations. That is why we are currently consulting on the second draft of the assessment criteria. I would welcome your views as part of this. The consultation documentation can be found at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/pip

Personal Independence Payment

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effects on personal independence payments of the length of time a person has experienced sight loss; and how an estimate of adaptation will be made.

Maria Miller: Entitlement to personal independence payment will be based on the extent to which an individual's health condition or impairment affects their day to day lives, not to focus on the nature of the health condition itself.
	The assessment for PIP will consider individuals' ability to carry out a series of key everyday activities. Priority in the benefit will be based on how well people can carry these out and the degree to which they need help from other people, or to use aids and appliances. By carrying out the assessment in this way we aim to ensure that the award is based on individual circumstances and treats people with all impairment types fairly.
	As entitlement will be based on an assessment of individual circumstances and impairments can affect people in many different ways, we are not able to make estimates on the impact of PIP on individuals with specific health conditions or impairments. However, I can assure you that the assessment will be based on considering the individual's ability to complete the activities at the time they are claiming the benefit, it will not make assumptions about any likely future adaptation.

Schizophrenia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of people diagnosed with schizophrenia who are employed.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated April 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate has been made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of people diagnosed with schizophrenia who are employed. 104131.
	Estimates of the number of people in employment are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Unfortunately estimates of those diagnosed with schizophrenia are not available; only those who reported a mental disorder.

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much and what proportion of social security expenditure was spent on (a) contributory, (b) non-contributory non-means-tested and (c) means-tested benefits in each of the last 30 years.

Chris Grayling: The information is in the following tables:
	
		
			  Nominal (£ million) 
			  Contributory Non-contributory/non-means tested Means tested  
			  N umber Percentage N umber Percentage N umber Percentage Total 
			 2010-11 80,347 52 24,171 16 48,404 32 152,922 
			 2009-10 77,814 53 23,417 16 46,353 31 147,584 
			 2008-09 72,676 54 22,044 16 40,639 30 135,359 
			 2007-08 67,419 54 20,093 16 38,398 30 125,909 
			 2006-07 63,134 53 18,873 16 37,171 31 119,177 
		
	
	
		
			 2005-06 60,915 53 19,122 16 35,715 31 115,752 
			 2004-05 58,409 53 17,635 16 35,027 31 111,071 
			 2003-04 56,079 53 16,339 15 33,342 32 105,760 
			 2002-03 53,687 49 24,301 22 32,301 29 110,288 
			 2001-02 51,094 48 24,681 23 30,917 29 106,692 
			 2000-01 47,797 47 23,899 24 29,667 29 101,362 
			 1999-2000 46,884 47 21,427 22 30,727 31 99,038 
			 1998-99 45,018 47 19,326 20 31,213 33 95,557 
			 1997-98 43,120 46 18,582 20 31,640 34 93,342 
			 1996-97 42,159 46 17,616 19 32,437 35 92,212 
			 1995-96 40,702 46 16,118 18 31,887 36 88,707 
			 1994-95 39,825 47 14,695 17 30,339 36 84,859 
			 1993-94 39,539 48 14,069 17 28,830 35 82,438 
			 1992-93 37,320 50 12,411 16 25,526 34 75,257 
			 1991-92 35,252 53 10,755 16 20,295 31 66,303 
			 1990-91 30,508 54 9,173 16 16,798 30 56,479 
			 1989-90 27,702 55 8,412 17 14,200 28 50,314 
			 1988-89 26,034 55 8,032 17 13,252 28 47,318 
			 1987-88 25,406 54 7,893 17 13,402 29 46,701 
			 1986-87 24,258 54 7,484 17 13,176 29 44,918 
			 1985-86 22,448 54 7,088 17 12,232 29 41,768 
			 1984-85 20,863 55 6,605 17 10,783 28 38,251 
			 1983-84 19,798 56 6,085 17 9,449 27 35,332 
			 1982-83 18,210 58 5,501 17 7,917 25 31,628 
			 1981-82 16,863 61 4,978 18 5,857 21 27,698 
		
	
	
		
			  2012-13 (1)  prices (£ million) 
			  Contributory Non-contributory/non-means tested Means tested  
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Total 
			 2010-11 84,331 52 25,370 16 50,804 32 160,506 
			 2009-10 83,885 53 25,244 16 49,969 31 159,098 
			 2008-09 79,753 54 24,190 16 44,597 30 148,540 
			 2007-08 76,207 54 22,712 16 43,403 30 142,322 
			 2006-07 73,007 53 21,824 16 42,984 31 137,815 
			 2005-06 72,775 53 22,845 16 42,669 31 138,289 
			 2004-05 71,202 53 21,498 16 42,699 31 135,400 
			 2003-04 70,325 53 20,489 15 41,811 32 132,625 
			 2002-03 68,727 49 31,109 22 41,350 29 141,186 
			 2001-02 67,126 48 32,425 23 40,618 29 140,169 
			 2000-01 63,953 47 31,977 24 39,694 29 135,623 
			 1999-2000 62,974 47 28,781 22 41,271 31 133,026 
			 1998-99 61,707 47 26,490 20 42,784 33 130,982 
			 1997-98 59,944 46 25,833 20 43,985 34 129,762 
			 1996-97 60,217 46 25,162 19 46,332 35 131,711 
			 1995-96 60,276 46 23,870 18 47,222 36 131,368 
			 1994-95 60,677 47 22,390 17 46,225 36 129,293 
			 1993-94 61,185 48 21,771 17 44,614 35 127,570 
			 1992-93 59,332 50 19,731 16 40,582 34 119,645 
			 1991-92 57,773 53 17,626 16 33,261 31 108,661 
			 1990-91 52,960 54 15,923 16 29,160 30 98,043 
			 1989-90 51,878 55 15,753 17 26,593 28 94,223 
			 1988-89 52,229 55 16,113 17 26,586 28 94,928 
			 1987-88 54,426 54 16,907 17 28,709 29 100,042 
			 1986-87 54,948 54 16,953 17 29,846 29 101,746 
			 1985-86 52,477 54 16,570 17 28,595 29 97,642 
			 1984-85 51,513 55 16,309 17 26,624 28 94,446 
		
	
	
		
			 1983-84 51,498 56 15,828 17 24,578 27 91,904 
			 1982-83 49,567 58 14,974 17 21,550 25 86,090 
			 1981-82 49,096 61 14,494 18 17,053 21 80,643 
			 (1) 2012-13 prices using GDP deflators current as at Budget 2012 Notes: 1. Figures relate to Great Britain, or people resident overseas who are receiving Great Britain benefits, except for Over 75 TV Licences and War Pensions, which also cover Northern Ireland. 2. Figures relate to social security expenditure administered by the Department for Work and Pensions or its predecessors along with those elements of housing and council tax benefits funded from local authorities' own revenue. 3. Over the years there have been a number of transfers of responsibility between departments which will affect the trends shown. The main transfers of responsibility are as follows: (a) From April 1999, benefits paid in respect of asylum seekers have been reimbursed by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), as part of the transitional arrangements to the new asylum support arrangements introduced at that time. Expenditure from 1999-2000 on the main income-related benefits excludes that amount reimbursed by NASS, but figures prior to that date have not been adjusted to exclude asylum seekers. (b) Family credit and disability working allowance were replaced from October 1999 by working families tax credit and disabled person's tax credit, administered by HM Revenue and Customs. (c) Responsibility for war pensions transferred to the Veterans Agency from 2002-03. (d) Responsibility for providing certain residential care or nursing homes was transferred to local authorities from April benefits in support of those living in 2002 to October 2003. Relevant expenditure has been identified in income support for years up to the transfer, and is presented in these figures. (e) Responsibility for child benefit, guardians allowance and child's special allowance transferred to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs from 2003-04. (f) Starting in April 2003, child allowances and premia in income support and jobseeker's allowance were gradually replaced by child tax credit, administered by HM Revenue and Customs. The figures include estimates of the value of the child tax credit-equivalent elements of those benefits. (g) From April 2003, a significant element of housing benefit expenditure was transferred to local authorities under the Supporting People programme. It is not possible to identify that element of housing benefit that was equivalent to Supporting People funding in the years up to 2002-03. (h) Although funding responsibility for rent rebate transferred to DWP from 2004-05, figures show all spending on rent rebate regardless of source of funding, throughout. Similarly, the figures include the full amount of spending on rent allowance, council tax benefit and predecessors throughout, even though a proportion of expenditure was funded by local authorities. This information can be found on the Department for Work and Pensions website at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=medium_term Source: DWP statistical and accounting data

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed each (a) non-means-tested and (b) means-tested benefit in each of the last 30 years.

Chris Grayling: The information requested on how many people have claimed benefits is not available, however information on benefit recipients could be obtained but only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with the Department of Health on the volume of requests for consultants to complete hospital reports for his Department in respect of claimants of disability living allowance or employment and support allowance.

Maria Miller: Departmental Ministers and officials have regular discussions with our counterparts in the Department of Health on policy and operational matters, including on disability living allowance and employment and support allowance. Under a long-standing agreement, NHS hospitals are obliged to provide factual reports and other supporting evidence to the Department, free of charge, to support consideration of claims for benefit. No recent discussions have taken place specifically on the volume of requests for such reports.

Social Security Benefits: Young People

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many 16 and 17-year-olds were in receipt of (a) jobseeker's allowance severe hardship payments and (b) income support in each of the last five years; and whether he plans to make any changes to the eligibility criteria after the introduction of universal credit.

Chris Grayling: Information on the total number of 16 and 17-year-olds who received jobseekers allowance (income based) is in the following table. This information includes those who qualify because they are in a prescribed group as well as those for whom a severe hardship direction has been issued.
	
		
			 Jobseeker's allowance (income based) recipients, aged 16-17, Great Britain: August 2007 to August 2011 
			 As at August each year Recipients 
			 2007 7,800 
			 2008 6,100 
			 2009 6,100 
			 2010 4,900 
			 2011 4,600 
			 Notes: 1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. Figures are based on 5% samples and therefore subject to sampling variation. 3. The preferred statistics on benefits are now derived from 100% data sources. However, 5% sample data still provides some detail not yet available from the 100% data sources, which are then uprated to 100% proportions, and rounded to the nearest hundred. 4. Except for some exceptional circumstances, young people aged 16-17 are generally excluded from receiving benefits as unemployed people. Jobseekers allowance (income based) is only paid to those who are in a prescribed group or for whom a severe hardship direction has been issued. 5. The breakdown of numbers who qualify for JSA in each of these categories is not available 6. Data are available from the Departments Tabulation Tool at the following link: http://83.244.183.180/100pc/is/tabtool_is.html Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate 5% samples. 
		
	
	Information on the total number of 16 and 17-year-olds who received income support is in the following table below.
	
		
			 Income support recipients aged 16-17, Great Britain: August 2007 to August 2011 
			 As at August each year Recipients 
			 2007 19,440 
			 2008 20,440 
			 2009 19,270 
			 2010 17,240 
			 2011 15,180 
			 Notes: 1. Figures have rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Data are available from the Departments Tabulation Tool at the following link: http://83.244.183.180/100pc/is/tabtool_is.html Source: DWP Information, Governance & Security Directorate Work and Pensions 100% Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 
		
	
	Regulations later this year will set out the circumstances in which young people under the age of 18 years can qualify for universal credit. We are designing universal credit on the basis that young people under the age of 18 years should normally be in education or training and in most cases should be supported by their parents. However, as now, there will be some cases where it is appropriate to make exceptions. We are considering whether there is scope to simplify and update the current approach but subject to that, we expect the eligibility criteria to be broadly similar.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the funding allocated for transition to universal credit he expects his Department to spend in each of the next three years.

Chris Grayling: The 2010 spending review settlement included funding of £2 billion for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15. This is intended to meet all the costs of introducing universal credit including any increases in benefit expenditure, additional benefit administration costs in the transition period, the costs of IT development and implementation, communications, staff training and programme management.
	The Department spent £103 million in 2011-12 and is estimating to spend a total of £332 million in 2012-13. This will be spent on IT development, programme management, implementation planning, communications and staff training in preparation for the launch of a universal credit pathfinder at the start of 2013-14.

Universal Credit: Young People

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to work with the Department for Education to ensure that universal credit supports young people aged 16 and 17 years who are estranged from their parents to participate in education or training after the rise in the participation age.

Chris Grayling: Regulations later this year will set out the circumstances in which young people who are necessarily living away from their parents can qualify for universal credit while in non-advanced education. We are designing universal credit on the basis that young people aged under 18 should normally be in education or training and that, as now, there will be some cases where it is appropriate to provide support direct to the young person rather than, as in most cases, via their parents. These principles are reinforced, but not materially changed, by the planned rise in the participation age to 18.

Vetting

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the effect of the time taken obtaining Criminal Records Bureau checks on individuals' ability to obtain employment.

Chris Grayling: At the request of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), officials from the Department have discussed with the Criminal Records Bureau the time taken to obtain checks but not the effect of the time taken on individuals' ability to obtain employment. Data on that are not collected. The length of time taken to complete a check varies according to each individual case and is not dependent upon an individual's employment or unemployment status.
	As shown in official reports, the Criminal Records Bureau has been consistently exceeding its published service standard of processing 90% of enhanced checks within 28 days for over 12 months. In the financial year 2011-12 the CRB issued 95.4% of all enhanced certificates within 28 days and 99.9% of standard certificates within 10 days. There are a number of factors that can affect the time taken to complete checks, including: the length of time it can take for an employer to deal with the initial application; the accurate completion of the application form; the clarity of the information provided; and the operational effectiveness of the Disclosure Units of the police forces.

Work Capability Assessment

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Employment of 13 March 2012, Official Report, column 71WH, which charities advised that with fewer mental, intellectual and cognitive function descriptors in the work capability assessment, there would not be an increase in the number of mental health claimants placed in the support group.

Chris Grayling: The internal review of the work capability assessment was undertaken with significant input from disability groups. Recognising the concerns of disability groups around initial proposals, significant work was undertaken with them to further refine the assessment. The outcome of this work was published as an addendum to the report and these changes and refinements are fully reflected in the final legislation. For ease of reference I attach the following link to the document:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/work-capability-assessment-review-addendum.pdf
	It would be inappropriate for the Department to comment further on individual charities' views on the revised work capability assessment and its descriptors, as this is a matter for the charities themselves to answer.

Work Capability Assessment

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Employment of 13 March 2012, Official Report, column 72WH, whether the proposed new descriptors for mental, intellectual and cognitive function that were recommended by Professor Harrington could be implemented without amending the descriptors for physical and fluctuating conditions.

Chris Grayling: It is important that the work capability assessment is a coherent and transparent assessment. The complexity of the proposals put forward on the mental, intellectual and cognitive function descriptors—particularly the proposed scoring system—mean that a similar approach would need to developed for the descriptors used to assess physical conditions.
	We are currently investigating how to build an evidence base to determine the effectiveness of the recommendations made to us on both the mental, intellectual and cognitive function descriptors and the physical/fluctuating conditions descriptors.

Work Capability Assessment

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Employment of 13 March 2012, Official Report, column 71WH, what evidence he has received that the increase in the number of people being allocated to the support group is as a result of the implementation of recommendations of his Department's internal review on the work capability assessment; and whether he has made an assessment of the effect of implementing the recommendations of Professor Harrington's Independent review on the number of people being allocated to the support group.

Chris Grayling: The statistics we have show that in the three months following the implementation of the recommendations from the internal review, the support group increased by 7% (from 15% to 22% of initial assessments, adjusted to account for appeals).
	It is highly likely that the increase in the size of the support group is at least in part due to the Department's internal review of the WCA in 2010.
	This is because the review recommended that some additional groups of people be placed into the support group. This included people awaiting certain kinds of chemotherapy, and those with certain communication difficulties and severe mental health conditions.
	The latest figures we have relevant to the size of the support group are from March-May 2011, which was when the Department's internal review recommendations were implemented.
	As the Harrington recommendations were only implemented in summer 2011, we do not yet know what effect these recommendations have had on the support group.
	New data will be available at the end of April.

Work Capability Assessment

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people awarded no points in the work capability assessment have been awarded maximum points on appeal.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available.

Work Capability Assessment

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work capability assessment.

Chris Grayling: Prior to the implementation of the Department-led review of the Work capability assessment (WCA), an impact assessment was undertaken to assess whether the proposed changes would help in correctly identifying an individual's capability for work. The impact assessment can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wca-ia-eia.pdf
	Furthermore, there is a statutory commitment to review the WCA for the first five years after it was introduced. Professor Malcolm Harrington, a highly respected Occupational Physician, was commissioned to undertake the reviews. He has now published two independent reviews of the WCA and is now working on his third and final review.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people previously on incapacity benefit who were reassessed using the work capability assessment and placed in the (a) support group and (b) work-related activity group have been given a back-to-work prognosis at (i) one month, (ii) two months and (iii) three months.

Chris Grayling: This information is not available.

Work Experience

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of work experience placements completed in each parliamentary constituency;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of workplaces offering work experience placements in each parliamentary constituency.

Chris Grayling: We do not collect the information in the format requested.
	From January to end November 2011, 34,200 claimants started a work experience placement nationally.

JUSTICE

Claims Management Services

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to reform the regulation of claims management companies.

Jonathan Djanogly: I plan to consult in the summer on the conduct requirements which regulate claims management companies activities. Steps have already been taken to tackle poor practices demonstrated by some claims companies handling claims for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), including the establishment of a specialist PPI compliance team within the Department's Claims Management Regulation Unit.

Disability Living Allowance: Appeals

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people are waiting to have an appeal tribunal hearing as a result of withdrawal of disability living allowance; what the average waiting time is; and what the (a) shortest and (b) longest times are in each local authority area.

Jonathan Djanogly: Data for the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal cannot be provided by local authority area. All appeals to the tribunal are registered in the processing centre in the region where the appellant lives, and data can be broken down to the level of these processing centres.
	Claimants can appeal to the tribunal on a number of different grounds, such as the rate of benefit awarded or refusal of benefit. The tribunal does not record the issue under appeal and, therefore, cannot isolate data relating to appeals on the basis of having been refused disability living allowance (DLA).
	The total number of 'live' DLA appeals (appeals at various stages of the process before hearing or decision) nationally at 31 December 2011 (the most recent period for which statistics have been published) was 43,200, down from 44,500 at the end of June 2011. The following table shows the estimated breakdown of live DLA appeals at each SSCS Tribunal Processing Centre.
	
		
			 Disability living allowance caseload outstanding by processing centre as at 31 December 2011 
			 Processing centre Number of live DLA cases 
			 Birmingham (East and West Midlands and East of England Government regions and part of London Government office region) 16,000 
			 Cardiff (Wales and SW England) 4,200 
			 Glasgow (Scotland) 3,800 
			 Leeds (Yorkshire and Humber) 5,600 
			 Liverpool (NW England) 6,100 
			 Newcastle (NE England) 3,100 
			 Sutton¹ (London and SE England) 4,400 
			 Total 43,200 
			 (1 )Covers whole of Government office region London, except Hillingdon, Harrow, Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Hackney which are covered by Birmingham. Note: The data, while the best available, are estimated management information. The proportion of the current caseload at each processing centre has been applied to the total caseload at 31 December 2011. 
		
	
	The following table shows the average time from receipt at Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to hearing for DLA appeals for the area served by each processing centre. The information covers 1 April 2011 to 31 December 2011, the latest period for which figures are available.
	
		
			 Disability living allowance appeals average waiting time by processing centre 
			 Processing centre Average waiting time in weeks December 2011 year to date 
			 Birmingham (East and West Midlands and East of England Government regions and part of London Government office region) 31.3 
			 Cardiff (Wales and SW England) 20.3 
			 Glasgow (Scotland) 20.5 
			 Leeds (Yorkshire and Humber) 27.2 
			 Newcastle (NE England) 28.4 
			 Liverpool (NW England) 26.8 
		
	
	
		
			 Sutton(1) (London and SE England) 22.3 
			 Average across all centres 25.5 
			 (1) Covers whole of Government office region London, except Hillingdon, Harrow, Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Hackney which are covered by Birmingham. 
		
	
	The SSCS Tribunal does not hold information on the shortest and longest waiting times for an appeal hearing. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost by manually checking each individual case file.
	It is possible to provide the percentages of appeals disposed of within four weeks and longer than 52 weeks. During the period 1 April to 31 December 2011, 65,200 DLA appeals were disposed of nationally. Of these, 6.9% were disposed of within four weeks and 7.9% were aged 52 weeks or more when disposed of. Those appeals that take longer than 52 weeks to be disposed of are likely to be complex cases which may have more than one hearing, for example a first hearing may have been adjourned for further evidence to be gathered. The following table shows the percentage of DLA appeals cleared within four weeks and in 52 weeks or more at each SSCS Tribunal Processing Centre, during the period 1 April to 31 December 2011.
	
		
			 Clearance times of disability living allowance appeals 
			 Processing centre Percentage of DLA appeals cleared in less than four weeks Percentage of DLA appeals cleared in 52 weeks or more 
			 Birmingham(East and West Midlands and East of England Government regions and part of London Government office region) 5.7 19.2 
			 Cardiff (Wales and SW England) 5.5 7.4 
			 Glasgow (Scotland) 8.2 1.6 
			 Leeds (Yorkshire and Humber) 8.4 3.2 
			 Newcastle (NE England) 7.2 8.4 
			 Liverpool (NW England) 8.5 3.1 
			 Sutton¹ (London and SE England) 6.2 3.0 
			 National average 6.9 7.9 
			 ¹ Covers whole of Government office region London, except Hillingdon, Harrow, Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Hackney which are covered by Birmingham. Note: The national figures are not calculated from the figures given for the individual processing centres but are calculated using national data from all processing centres. As the sets of figures are calculated in different ways there may be slight discrepancies between them. 
		
	
	HMCTS is working hard to increase the capacity of the SSCS Tribunal and reduce waiting times. It has implemented a range of measures including recruiting more judges and medical panel members; increasing administrative resources; securing additional estate; increasing the number of cases listed in each session; running double shifts in its largest processing centre; running Saturday sittings in some of the busiest venues; and setting up a customer contact centre to deal with telephone enquiries.
	All of this is having a positive effect. The number of disposals has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009/10 to 380,000 in 2010-11 and the tribunal planned to dispose of around 435,000 appeals in 2011-12, with the capacity for half a million disposals in 2012/13. Disposals outstripped receipts for the 12 months between January 2011 and December 2011, and the number of cases waiting to be heard reduced by over 44,000 between April and December. The average waiting time has stabilised nationally, and is beginning to fall in many venues.

Extradition: Children

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received on the adequacy of the maximum sentence for child abduction crimes; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has not received any formal representations on the adequacy of the maximum sentences available for child abduction offences. The Government are however aware of, and are considering, the recommendation made by the Lord Chief Justice in the cases of R v. Kayani and R v. Solliman (2011) EWCA Crim 2871 in regard to the maximum penalties for offences under the Child Abduction Act 1984.

Family Courts

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reason family courts sit in private; if he will consider requiring them to sit in public; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Cases involving children are highly sensitive and the European Convention on Human Rights supports the principle that the privacy of vulnerable children and their families should be respected during proceedings. Any desire to make the family courts more open must therefore be carefully balanced with the parties' rights to privacy and the interests of the children involved. Accredited media representatives have been able to attend most family proceedings since April 2009, and we are currently considering more ways in which greater information can be released from the family courts.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of industrial disease claims for damages were judged to be vexatious or frivolous in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of vexatious or frivolous claims for mesothelioma; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice does not collect any data in relation to the number of claims for damages that relate specifically to industrial diseases or mesothelioma; nor does it make any formal assessment as to vexatious or frivolous claims.

Legal Aid Scheme: Domestic Violence

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effects of his proposed changes to legal aid funding on victims of domestic violence.

Jonathan Djanogly: The legal aid reforms are designed to protect victims of violence. They maintain public funding for advice and representation in private family matters for victims of domestic violence, as well as public funding in respect of protection orders for victims of domestic violence. We will also continue to waive financial eligibility limits in these cases.

Legal Aid Scheme: Parents

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider extending legal aid to both parents when contesting child custody cases; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Legal aid is currently available for both parents involved in child custody cases. Following the legal aid reforms, we are taking most private family law cases out of the scope of legal aid. We are encouraging mediation as a means of resolving disputes, in place of adversarial litigation. However, we are keeping legal aid for victims of domestic violence in family cases because otherwise they may not be able to effectively put their case against their former abuser. This does not apply to the perpetrator.

Legal Aid Scheme: Police

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effect on court time of changes to funding for litigants in actions against the police.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Impact Assessments and Equality Impact Assessments published alongside the response to consultation lay out the Government's assessment of the likely costs and benefits of the reforms. Ultimately, impacts arising from the changes will be driven by behavioural responses, and these cannot be predicted with any real degree of accuracy. We will undertake a post-implementation review of the reforms between three and five years following implementation.

Legal Aid Scheme: Police

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has made with the Secretary of State for the Home Department about the potential effect on police time and costs of changes to funding for litigants against the police.

Jonathan Djanogly: Discussions were held with a range of Government Departments on a range of issues as part of both the policy development and clearance process, and these discussions naturally included consideration of systemic costs. Ultimately, costs arising from the reforms will be dependent on behavioural responses to the changes, and these cannot be predicted with any real degree of accuracy. We will conduct a post-implementation review of the reforms between three and five years following implementation.

Litter: Prosecutions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2012, Official Report, column 217W, on litter: prosecutions, what proportion of the people (a) charged, (b) prosecuted and (c) convicted of dropping litter resided in (i) London and (ii) each local authority in London.

Crispin Blunt: Pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2012, Official Report, column 217W; information held on the Ministry of Justice court proceedings database does not identify the place of residence of defendants proceeded against.
	Charging data are not collected by the Ministry of Justice.

Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the operational staffing requirement was for (a) operational managers, (b) principal officers, (c) senior officers, (d) prison officers, (e) operational support grades and (f) other grades at each prison establishment on 31 March 2012; and what the staff-in-post figure for each such group at each establishment was on that date.

Crispin Blunt: The number of funded posts (otherwise known as the operational staffing requirement) and the number of staff in-post within public sector prison establishments for the grades listed at the latest date available are given in the following table. Figures for private sector establishments are not provided as they have their own grading structures.
	All of these grades are now closed to new entrants as part of work force changes in public sector prisons. The principal officer grade has been closed since 2009 and the funded level reflects the number of such staff remaining in-post.
	Information on the number of funded posts and full-time equivalent staff in-post is contained in the tables. Information is supplied as at 31 January 2012, which is the date of the latest published associated data.
	
		
			 Funded posts and staff in- post at Prison Service establishments, a s a t 31 January 2012 
			  Operational managers Principal officer Senior officer Prison officer 
			 Establishment Funded In- post Funded In- post Funded In- post Funded In- post 
			 Askham Grange 4.0 4.0 — — 4.0 4.0 20.3 19.0 
			 Aylesbury 6.0 6.0 4.0 4.0 28.0 27.0 130.0 115.0 
			 Bedford 8.0 5.0 — 3.0 22.0 21.0 129.0 118.0 
			 Belmarsh 15.0 13.0 18.0 18.0 74.0 69.0 415.0 400.0 
			 Blantyre House 3.0 3.0 — — 6.6 7.0 23.1 25.0 
			 Blundeston 8.0 9.0 3.0 3.0 18.0 18.0 113.0 117.0 
			 Brinsford 10.0 11.0 5.0 4.0 35.0 39.0 172.5 173.0 
			 Bristol 8.7 7.0 5.0 4.0 28.0 29.0 176.1 163.0 
			 Brixton 13.0 12.0 2.0 7.0 31.0 26.0 173.0 167.0 
			 Buckley Hall 8.0 9.0 — — 15.0 15.0 82.5 90.0 
			 Bullingdon 9.5 11.0 9.0 10.0 34.0 34.0 224.7 215.0 
			 Bullwood Hall 3.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 10.8 9.0 57.7 57.0 
			 Bure 8.7 9.0 3.6 4.0 26.0 25.0 124.0 119.0 
			 Canterbury 4.0 5.0 4.6 5.0 17.0 17.0 76.5 79.0 
			 Cardiff 11.0 10.0 4.0 5.0 33.5 34.0 217.5 224.0 
			 Channings Wood 9.0 7.0 — 5.0 30.0 30.0 138.5 145.0 
			 Chelmsford 10.0 9.0 5.0 5.0 29.3 27.0 186.2 181.0 
			 Coldingley 7.7 7.0 6.0 4.0 23.5 24.0 104.0 96.0 
			 Cookham Wood 5.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 23.0 17.0 113.0 109.0 
			 Dartmoor 9.0 4.0 — 6.0 22.5 22.0 115.0 119.0 
			 Deerbolt 9.0 11.0 4.8 5.0 25.0 23.0 146.0 143.0 
			 Dorchester 4.0 5.0 — 2.0 17.5 20.0 83.5 87.0 
			 Dover 4.0 6.0 2.4 1.0 20.0 20.0 105.6 107.0 
			 Downview 6.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 20.0 19.0 94.0 91.0 
			 Drake Hall 7.6 7.0 1.5 1.0 14.5 14.0 69.0 69.0 
			 Durham 10.0 15.0 4.0 8.0 33.0 37.0 207.5 237.0 
			 East Sutton Park 2.0 2.0 — — 5.0 5.0 16.4 18.0 
			 Eastwood Park 8.0 8.0 1.0 3.0 22.0 20.0 129.0 120.0 
			 Sheppey Cluster 21.0 20.0 23.0 21.0 111.5 109.0 619.5 588.0 
			 Erlestoke and Shepton Mallet 10.0 8.0 — 6.0 26.0 25.0 153.5 147.0 
			 Everthorpe 5.7 7.0 6.0 5.0 33.0 33.0 119.5 119.0 
			 Exeter 8.0 8.0 3.3 4.0 24.5 26.0 139.0 143.0 
			 Featherstone 7.5 9.0 1.0 1.0 26.0 26.0 123.0 121.0 
			 Feltham 13.0 10.0 11.5 8.0 64.0 60.0 335.0 308.0 
			 Ford 5.0 5.0 3.0 2.0 14.0 12.0 46.0 45.0 
			 Foston Hall 7.0 5.0 — 3.0 15.0 12.0 89.0 95.0 
			 Frankland 8.0 7.0 18.0 18.0 71.0 70.0 513.5 509.0 
			 Full Sutton 17.0 16.0 11.2 12.0 62.0 61.0 371.8 357.0 
			 Garth 10.0 11.0 7.0 9.0 31.5 33.0 210.0 212.0 
			 Gartree 10.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 35.0 35.0 168.0 168.0 
			 Glen Parva 14.0 13.0 — 9.0 35.0 35.0 193.0 200.0 
			 Gloucester 6.0 5.0 — 5.0 20.0 18.0 98.0 96.0 
		
	
	
		
			 Grendon 8.7 8.0 4.0 4.0 22.0 22.0 111.0 113.0 
			 Guys Marsh 6.4 7.0 — 3.0 21.0 17.0 101.5 101.0 
			 Haslar 4.0 3.0 — 2.0 9.0 9.0 40.0 38.0 
			 Haverigg 6.0 8.0 1.0 5.0 21.0 19.0 114.0 113.0 
			 Hewell 14.0 17.0 10.0 9.0 52.0 54.0 242.0 259.0 
			 High Down 9.0 11.0 3.5 4.0 42.6 43.0 215.5 206.0 
			 Highpoint 14.0 13.0 8.0 8.0 44.7 38.0 244.6 230.0 
			 Hindley 13.0 15.0 7.5 10.0 33.0 32.0 221.0 212.0 
			 Hollesley Bay 5.0 5.0 2.0 3.0 9.5 10.0 38.0 41.0 
			 Holloway 15.0 13.0 1.0 3.0 35.0 32.0 176.0 171.0 
			 Holme House 12.0 17.0 10.0 10.0 40.0 41.0 283.0 281.0 
			 Hull 11.0 11.0 10.5 12.0 41.9 46.0 235.7 246.0 
			 Huntercombe 6.0 8.0 1.0 5.0 20.0 20.0 84.0 80.0 
			 Isis 12.0 13.0 5.0 3.0 24.0 24.0 145.0 132.0 
			 Isle of Wight 21.0 14.0 5.0 6.0 65.0 64.0 356.5 358.0 
			 Kennet 6.0 7.0 5.0 5.0 20.5 18.0 102.0 106.0 
			 Kingston 7.0 5.0 — 1.0 11.0 9.0 50.0 50.0 
			 Kirkham 10.0 8.0 5.0 5.0 13.0 14.0 54.0 61.0 
			 Kirklevington Grange 4.0 4.0 1.0 2.0 10.0 9.0 37.5 41.0 
			 Lancaster Farms 9.3 10.0 — 1.0 29.5 32.0 173.0 173.0 
			 Leeds 9.0 8.0 7.5 8.0 51.0 57.0 271.5 284.0 
			 Leicester 7.0 7.0 — 2.0 17.0 15.0 104.0 112.0 
			 Lewes 7.0 6.0 6.0 8.0 29.5 27.0 177.0 168.0 
			 Leyhill 6.6 8.0 2.0 2.0 16.0 16.0 54.0 55.0 
			 Lincoln 9.5 10.0 7.0 7.0 28.0 31.0 148.0 152.0 
			 Lindholme 13.0 16.0 6.0 4.0 37.0 37.0 180.5 183.0 
			 Littlehey 11.0 11.0 3.0 4.0 48.0 44.0 223.5 211.0 
			 Liverpool 16.0 11.0 — 11.0 45.5 45.0 267.0 272.0 
			 Long Lartin 12.5 16.0 7.0 6.0 51.0 53.0 320.0 331.0 
			 Low Newton 8.4 11.0 — 1.0 19.0 20.0 115.0 116.0 
			 Maidstone 8.5 8.0 1.0 2.0 21.0 18.0 110.5 114.0 
			 Manchester 7.0 9.0 19.0 19.0 69.7 73.0 366.8 380.0 
			 Moorland 12.0 10.0 12.0 9.0 48.0 44.0 262.0 248.0 
			 Morton Hall 6.0 8.0 — 1.0 23.0 25.0 100.0 98.0 
			 New Hall 10.0 8.0 2.0 4.0 33.0 29.0 148.5 164.0 
			 North Sea Camp 5.0 5.0 2.0 2.0 8.6 9.0 38.6 41.0 
			 Northallerton 7.0 6.0 1.0 1.0 13.0 11.0 53.0 49.0 
			 Northumberland 18.0 17.0 11.0 10.0 60.5 62.0 326.0 323.0 
			 Norwich 12.0 11.0 4.5 4.0 25.0 25.0 174.0 168.0 
			 Nottingham 10.5 11.0 7.0 8.0 47.0 46.0 268.0 258.0 
			 Onley 9.6 8.0 4.0 4.0 27.9 29.0 142.0 123.0 
			 Pentonville 13.0 13.0 8.0 11.0 47.0 47.0 309.5 299.0 
			 Portland 8.0 10.0 — 3.0 28.0 30.0 145.5 143.0 
			 Preston 13.0 12.0 — 7.0 34.0 38.0 201.0 214.0 
			 Ranby 11.0 10.0 6.0 7.0 30.0 32.0 179.0 193.0 
			 Reading 5.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 17.0 16.0 89.0 82.0 
			 Risley 9.0 9.0 8.0 8.0 32.0 31.0 235.0 235.0 
			 Rochester 7.0 8.0 9.6 10.0 28.0 27.0 194.0 177.0 
			 Send 6.0 6.0 4.0 4.0 20.0 21.0 76.0 64.0 
			 Shrewsbury 4.0 4.0 4.7 6.0 17.0 18.0 74.0 84.0 
			 Stafford 9.0 11.0 4.5 5.0 30.0 33.0 138.0 143.0 
			 Stocken 8.5 10.0 — 5.0 33.0 34.0 157.0 154.0 
			 Stoke Heath 12.0 12.0 7.0 6.0 35.0 31.0 181.0 184.0 
			 Styal 9.0 7.0 4.5 13.0 17.0 17.0 142.0 141.0 
			 Sudbury 5.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 12.0 12.0 48.0 49.0 
			 Swansea 7.5 7.0 4.0 4.0 19.0 22.0 112.0 120.0 
			 Swinfen Hall 11.0 5.0 1.0 7.0 26.0 29.0 156.0 156.0 
			 The Mount 9.0 8.0 — 5.0 25.0 23.0 124.0 121.0 
			 The Verne 6.2 7.0 — 2.0 16.0 17.0 80.0 85.0 
			 Thorn Cross 4.0 5.0 3.0 3.0 15.9 16.0 72.0 74.0 
			 Usk/Prescoed 5.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 13.0 14.0 67.0 71.0 
			 Wakefield 18.0 18.0 14.0 19.0 59.0 58.0 343.5 336.0 
			 Wandsworth 16.0 11.0 1.0 10.0 71.0 57.0 336.0 332.0 
		
	
	
		
			 Warren Hill 8.0 8.0 1.0 2.0 20.0 21.0 119.0 117.0 
			 Wayland 9.0 8.0 6.8 6.0 31.5 30.0 179.0 181.0 
			 Wealstun 9.0 11.0 7.0 7.0 33.0 33.0 163.0 166.0 
			 Wellingborough 9.0 8.0 3.0 3.0 21.0 22.0 112.0 112.0 
			 Werrington 6.0 6.0 3.0 2.0 15.0 14.0 73.5 76.0 
			 Wetherby 14.0 13.0 1.0 3.0 36.0 34.0 204.0 207.0 
			 Whatton 9.0 9.0 — 4.0 25.0 25.0 156.0 156.0 
			 Whitemoor 13.0 15.0 11.0 6.0 60.5 58.0 337.0 324.0 
			 Winchester 7.0 5.0 2.0 2.0 26.0 23.0 157.0 158.0 
			 Woodhill 19.0 21.0 6.0 6.0 70.0 66.0 378.9 359.0 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 17.0 16.0 11.6 11.0 47.0 47.0 267.5 259.0 
			 Wymott 14.5 13.0 8.5 8.0 30.0 31.0 219.0 229.0 
			 Public sector total 1,083.0 1,059.0 512.5 643.0 3,560.0 3,503.0 19,520.9 19,374.0 
		
	
	
		
			  Operational support grades Other grades All grades 
			 Establishment Funded In- post Funded In- post Funded In- post 
			 Askham Grange 12.5 13.0 18.9 19.0 59.7 59.0 
			 Aylesbury 52.0 41.0 83.3 74.0 303.3 267.0 
			 Bedford 36.0 30.0 73.6 75.0 268.6 252.0 
			 Belmarsh 215.0 214.0 146.3 139.0 883.3 853.0 
			 Blantyre House 14.8 15.0 14.2 15.0 61.6 65.0 
			 Blundeston 46.0 44.0 84.5 77.0 272.5 268.0 
			 Brinsford 59.5 54.0 89.7 89.0 371.7 370.0 
			 Bristol 52.0 53.0 92.1 74.0 361.9 330.0 
			 Brixton 44.5 46.0 69.0 64.0 332.5 322.0 
			 Buckley Hall 32.0 31.0 59.0 56.0 196.5 201.0 
			 Bullingdon 67.0 67.0 121.6 119.0 465.8 456.0 
			 Bullwood Hall 21.0 20.0 52.5 43.0 147.0 133.0 
			 Bure 51.0 49.0 85.7 75.0 299.0 281.0 
			 Canterbury 37.5 37.0 40.6 40.0 180.2 183.0 
			 Cardiff 46.0 45.0 120.1 125.0 432.1 443.0 
			 Channings Wood 50.0 51.0 109.6 116.0 337.1 354.0 
			 Chelmsford 63.0 57.0 100.1 91.0 393.6 370.0 
			 Coldingley 43.0 36.0 80.4 74.0 264.6 241.0 
			 Cookham Wood 37.0 32.0 64.4 59.0 246.4 225.0 
			 Dartmoor 49.0 43.0 101.3 92.0 296.8 286.0 
			 Deerbolt 56.0 57.0 89.2 93.0 330.0 332.0 
			 Dorchester 19.0 19.0 49.2 45.0 173.2 178.0 
			 Dover 58.0 55.0 66.1 64.0 256.1 253.0 
			 Downview 33.0 28.0 55.7 55.0 213.7 201.0 
			 Drake Hall 31.0 31.0 53.9 56.0 177.5 178.0 
			 Durham 76.0 79.0 117.8 127.0 448.3 503.0 
			 East Sutton Park 11.3 11.0 21.5 22.0 56.2 58.0 
			 Eastwood Park 39.0 34.0 60.8 69.0 259.8 254.0 
			 Sheppey Cluster 207.5 184.0 362.1 323.0 1344.6 1245.0 
			 Erlestoke and Shepton Mallet 83.0 77.0 119.2 113.0 391.7 376.0 
			 Everthorpe 44.0 47.0 72.1 74.0 280.2 285.0 
			 Exeter 34.0 30.0 79.2 76.0 288.0 287.0 
			 Featherstone 49.0 50.0 120.7 114.0 327.2 321.0 
			 Feltham 114.0 112.0 178.7 174.0 716.2 672.0 
			 Ford 34.0 29.0 64.3 60.0 166.3 153.0 
			 Foston Hall 41.0 39.0 38.5 37.0 190.5 191.0 
			 Frankland 127.0 130.0 193.7 195.0 931.2 929.0 
			 Full Sutton 125.0 134.0 159.9 149.0 746.9 729.0 
			 Garth 73.0 74.0 137.3 133.0 468.8 472.0 
			 Gartree 44.0 45.0 133.3 124.0 394.3 383.0 
			 Glen Parva 61.0 56.0 106.2 105.0 409.2 418.0 
			 Gloucester 34.0 33.0 49.8 50.0 207.8 207.0 
			 Grendon 48.9 48.0 90.2 93.0 284.7 288.0 
			 Guys Marsh 54.1 49.0 94.0 90.0 276.9 267.0 
			 Haslar 11.0 10.0 34.9 36.0 98.9 98.0 
			 Haverigg 59.0 59.0 103.4 107.0 304.4 311.0 
		
	
	
		
			 Hewell 115.0 114.0 149.4 157.0 582.4 610.0 
			 High Down 101.0 95.0 112.2 116.0 483.8 475.0 
			 Highpoint 124.0 117.0 181.7 177.0 617.0 583.0 
			 Hindley 54.0 53.0 96.1 98.0 424.6 420.0 
			 Hollesley Bay 26.5 27.0 51.2 55.0 132.2 141.0 
			 Holloway 68.0 69.0 87.4 91.0 382.4 379.0 
			 Holme House 60.5 66.0 138.5 138.0 544.0 553.0 
			 Hull 82.0 81.0 95.6 97.0 476.8 493.0 
			 Huntercombe 35.5 35.0 70.0 70.0 216.5 218.0 
			 Isis 43.0 35.0 67.8 57.0 296.8 264.0 
			 Isle of Wight 142.3 138.0 267.3 250.0 857.0 830.0 
			 Kennet 50.0 48.0 69.3 70.0 252.8 254.0 
			 Kingston 15.0 14.0 44.2 44.0 127.2 123.0 
			 Kirkham 33.0 35.0 89.4 89.0 204.4 212.0 
			 Kirklevington Grange 27.0 27.0 46.8 47.0 126.3 130.0 
			 Lancaster Farms 49.0 55.0 86.5 89.0 347.3 360.0 
			 Leeds 126.0 95.0 90.5 97.0 555.5 549.0 
			 Leicester 30.0 29.0 38.8 45.0 196.8 210.0 
			 Lewes 67.5 71.0 65.1 70.0 352.1 350.0 
			 Leyhill 29.0 30.0 91.3 97.0 198.9 208.0 
			 Lincoln 64.7 59.0 69.5 68.0 326.7 327.0 
			 Lindholme 114.0 98.0 113.0 117.0 463.5 455.0 
			 Littlehey 96.0 87.0 170.1 162.0 551.6 519.0 
			 Liverpool 102.0 114.0 128.4 123.0 558.9 576.0 
			 Long Lartin 122.0 123.0 159.3 139.0 671.8 668.0 
			 Low Newton 47.0 48.0 78.6 86.0 268.0 282.0 
			 Maidstone 56.0 55.0 65.7 62.0 262.7 259.0 
			 Manchester 153.7 157.0 185.4 192.0 801.5 830.0 
			 Moorland 93.0 95.0 86.1 96.0 513.1 502.0 
			 Morton Hall 49.0 47.0 42.0 35.0 220.0 214.0 
			 New Hall 63.0 65.0 72.9 79.0 329.4 349.0 
			 North Sea Camp 23.0 21.0 40.5 46.0 117.6 124.0 
			 Northallerton 26.0 25.0 40.2 39.0 140.2 131.0 
			 Northumberland 130.0 136.0 205.8 189.0 751.3 737.0 
			 Norwich 66.0 61.0 95.9 94.0 377.4 363.0 
			 Nottingham 101.0 97.0 102.5 106.0 536.0 526.0 
			 Onley 53.0 48.0 112.5 103.0 349.0 315.0 
			 Pentonville 81.0 80.0 111.9 102.0 570.4 552.0 
			 Portland 55.0 56.0 100.9 104.0 337.4 346.0 
			 Preston 69.0 73.0 86.6 86.0 403.6 430.0 
			 Ranby 87.0 90.0 121.5 130.0 434.5 462.0 
			 Reading 33.0 31.0 46.4 42.0 194.4 179.0 
			 Risley 70.0 70.0 109.5 120.0 463.5 473.0 
			 Rochester 70.5 66.0 123.9 111.0 433.0 399.0 
			 Send 33.0 29.0 54.5 55.0 193.5 179.0 
			 Shrewsbury 42.5 39.0 60.2 63.0 202.4 214.0 
			 Stafford 62.0 62.0 109.7 108.0 353.2 362.0 
			 Stocken 62.0 59.0 83.7 89.0 344.2 351.0 
			 Stoke Heath 60.3 57.0 119.4 115.0 414.7 405.0 
			 Styal 47.0 47.0 75.7 77.0 295.2 302.0 
			 Sudbury 33.5 34.0 56.1 54.0 155.6 153.0 
			 Swansea 27.5 24.0 79.7 83.0 249.7 260.0 
			 Swinfen Hall 69.0 68.0 96.7 101.0 359.7 366.0 
			 The Mount 52.0 46.0 107.5 107.0 317.5 310.0 
			 The Verne 60.0 54.0 98.9 100.0 261.1 265.0 
			 Thorn Cross 25.0 21.0 54.8 61.0 174.7 180.0 
			 Usk/Prescoed 29.0 29.0 54.7 59.0 172.7 182.0 
			 Wakefield 127.0 119.0 146.2 140.0 707.7 690.0 
			 Wandsworth 119.5 110.0 142.5 155.0 686.0 675.0 
			 Warren Hill 31.5 29.0 62.2 70.0 241.7 247.0 
			 Wayland 59.5 59.0 116.9 118.0 402.7 402.0 
			 Wealstun 75.0 74.0 125.0 130.0 412.0 421.0 
			 Wellingborough 56.0 53.0 67.3 64.0 268.3 262.0 
		
	
	
		
			 Werrington 29.0 26.0 55.0 54.0 181.5 178.0 
			 Wetherby 47.0 63.0 101.2 105.0 403.2 425.0 
			 Whatton 79.0 77.0 107.8 112.0 376.8 383.0 
			 Whitemoor 124.0 122.0 189.2 175.0 734.7 700.0 
			 Winchester 55.1 46.0 88.8 82.0 335.9 316.0 
			 Woodhill 135.0 128.0 138.8 137.0 747.7 717.0 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 85.0 83.0 144.3 148.0 572.4 564.0 
			 Wymott 77.0 80.0 155.7 148.0 504.7 509.0 
			 Public sector total 7,401.0 7,172.0 11,359.0 11,195.0 43,436.3 42,946.0

Pleural Plaques

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been diagnosed with pleural plaques in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 2005.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice does not collect any statistics in relation to the number of people diagnosed with pleural plaques. The information is therefore not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by contacting individual medical practices in the specific areas identified to ascertain the number of diagnoses.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that resources for victims' services are maintained once the commissioning of services is devolved to police and crime commissioners;
	(2)  if he will assess the merits of ring-fencing the resources for victims' services which are devolved to police and crime commissioners.

Crispin Blunt: In the consultation document ‘Getting it right for Victims and Witnesses’ the Government set out proposals to raise up to an additional £50 million annually from offenders, to be used for support services for victims and witnesses, in addition to the considerable sums already made available by Government for that purpose. The consultation closed on 22 April and as we consider the many responses we have received we shall certainly look at how to ensure that funding for victims and witnesses is used as intended.

Prison Sentences

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library any correspondence received from the (a) Metropolitan police, (b) other police forces and (c) Association of Chief Police Officers relating to the abolition of indeterminate public protection sentences.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has no record of receiving any correspondence from the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Metropolitan police or any other police force relating to the abolition of indeterminate public protection sentences.

Prison Sentences

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library any risk assessment his Department has conducted on the ending of indeterminate public protection sentences.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has not carried out a specific risk assessment of the abolition of indeterminate public protection sentences. The impact assessment and equality impact assessment of the provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill that relate to the replacement of indeterminate public protection sentences with a mandatory life sentence and extended determinate sentences have been published on the Ministry of Justice website and are available from the Library.

Prison Service

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many grievances have been lodged by Prison Service staff in each prison in the last 12 months.

Crispin Blunt: Information on the number of grievance cases raised by staff in each Prison Service establishment in England and Wales from 1 February 2011 to 31 January 2012 is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Grievances raised at each Prison Service establishment in England and Wales, 1 February 2011 to 31 January 2012 
			 Establishment Grievances raised 
			 Public sector  
			 Ashwell 0 
			 Askham Grange 0 
			 Aylesbury 6 
			 Bedford 5 
			 Belmarsh 17 
			 Birmingham (January to September)(1) 3 
			 Blantyre House 0 
			 Blundeston 19 
			 Brinsford 8 
			 Bristol 3 
			 Brixton 9 
			 Buckley Hall 33 
			 Bullingdon 10 
			 Bullwood Hall 1 
			 Bure 9 
			 Canterbury 1 
			 Cardiff 11 
			 Channings Wood 9 
			 Chelmsford 4 
			 Coldingley 6 
			 Cookham Wood 3 
		
	
	
		
			 Dartmoor 14 
			 Deerbolt 5 
			 Dorchester 3 
			 Dover 3 
			 Downview 19 
			 Drake Hall 4 
			 Durham 5 
			 East Sutton Park 0 
			 Eastwood Park 9 
			 Elmley 14 
			 Erlestoke and Shepton Mallet 4 
			 Everthorpe 8 
			 Exeter 5 
			 Featherstone 14 
			 Feltham 52 
			 Ford 16 
			 Foston Hall 10 
			 Frankland 10 
			 Full Sutton 10 
			 Garth 9 
			 Gartree 9 
			 Glen Parva 9 
			 Gloucester 4 
			 Grendon 11 
			 Guys Marsh 9 
			 Haslar 1 
			 Haverigg 4 
			 Hewell 22 
			 High Down 13 
			 Highpoint 16 
			 Hindley 11 
			 Hollesley Bay 2 
			 Holloway 12 
			 Holme House 10 
			 Hull 5 
			 Huntercombe 7 
			 Isis 4 
			 Isle of Wight 33 
			 Kennet 13 
			 Kingston 4 
			 Kirkham 8 
			 Kirklevington Grange 1 
			 Lancaster 1 
			 Lancaster Farms 9 
			 Latchmere House 0 
			 Leeds 13 
			 Leicester 3 
			 Lewes 8 
			 Leyhill 3 
			 Lincoln 16 
			 Lindholme 4 
			 Littlehey 32 
			 Liverpool 16 
			 Long Lartin 17 
			 Low Newton 7 
			 Maidstone 2 
			 Manchester 9 
			 Moorland 26 
			 Morton Hall 12 
			 New Hall 4 
			 North Sea Camp 5 
			 Northallerton 4 
			 Northumberland 28 
			 Norwich 10 
		
	
	
		
			 Nottingham 17 
			 Onley 12 
			 Pentonville 8 
			 Portland 6 
			 Preston 8 
			 Ranby 25 
			 Reading 4 
			 Risley 6 
			 Rochester 4 
			 Send 9 
			 Sheppey Central Services 0 
			 Shrewsbury 7 
			 Stafford 8 
			 Standford Hill 7 
			 Stocken 2 
			 Stoke Heath 13 
			 Styal 11 
			 Sudbury 2 
			 Swaleside 0 
			 Swansea 7 
			 Swinfen Hall 13 
			 The Mount 10 
			 The Verne 9 
			 Thorn Cross 5 
			 Usk/Prescoed 1 
			 Wakefield 18 
			 Wandsworth 26 
			 Warren Hill 3 
			 Wayland 5 
			 Wealstun 12 
			 Wellingborough 9 
			 Werrington 10 
			 Wetherby 6 
			 Whatton 12 
			 Whitemoor 7 
			 Winchester 16 
			 Woodhill 24 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 36 
			 Wymott 13 
			 Public sector total 1,199 
			   
			 Private sector (2)  
			 Altcourse 21 
			 Ashfield(3) 7 
			 Birmingham (October to December)(1) 6 
			 Bronzefield 7 
			 Doncaster(3) 11 
			 Dovegate(3) 17 
			 Forest Bank 4 
			 Lowdham Grange(3) 5 
			 Parc 2 
			 Peterborough 12 
			 Rye Hill 14 
			 Wolds 6 
			 Private sector total 112 
			   
			 Grand total 1,311 
			 (1) HMP Birmingham transferred to private sector management in October and is reported separately as a public and private sector establishment. (2) Unless otherwise stated, information for the private sector is for January to December 2011. (3) Information relates to March 2011 to April 2012.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many foreign prisoners of each nationality were held in prisons in England and Wales on the latest date for which figures are available;
	(2)  Justice how many prisoners held in prisons in England and Wales hold dual UK and other country nationality.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows the number of foreign national prisoners of each nationality being held in prisons in England and Wales, as at 31 December 2011. These figures are published quarterly in table 1.6 of the ‘Offender Management Statistics Quarterly Bulletin’ available at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/prisons-and-probation/oms-quarterly
	The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of prisoners who hold dual UK and other nationalities.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Population in prison, by nationality, 31 December 2011, England and Wales 
			 Nationality Total 
			 All nationalities 86,172 
			 British nationals 73,620 
			 Foreign nationals 11,077 
			 Nationality not recorded 1,475 
			   
			 Total Africa 2,537 
			 Algeria 169 
			 Angola 54 
			 Benin 4 
			 Botswana 1 
			 Burkina Faso 1 
			 Burundi 17 
			 Cameroon 30 
			 Central African Republic 15 
			 Chad 2 
			 Congo 125 
			 Egypt 23 
			 Equatorial Guinea 1 
			 Ethiopia 68 
			 Gabon 1 
			 Gambia 52 
			 Ghana 143 
			 Guinea 15 
			 Ivory Coast 29 
			 Kenya 66 
			 Liberia 22 
			 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 21 
			 Malawi 14 
			 Mali 1 
			 Mauritania 4 
			 Mauritius 26 
			 Morocco 61 
			 Mozambique 2 
			 Namibia 6 
			 Niger 18 
		
	
	
		
			 Nigeria 571 
			 Rwanda 17 
			 Senegal 7 
			 Seychelles 3 
			 Sierra Leone 77 
			 Somalia 441 
			 South Africa 98 
			 Sudan 35 
			 Tanzania 20 
			 Togo 2 
			 Tunisia 19 
			 Uganda 54 
			 Western Sahara 1 
			 Zambia 22 
			 Zimbabwe 179 
			   
			 Total Asia 2,247 
			 Afghanistan 164 
			 Bangladesh 250 
			 Brunei Darussalam 1 
			 China 219 
			 Hong Kong 1 
			 India 422 
			 Indonesia 1 
			 Japan 5 
			 Korea, DPR (North Korea) 1 
			 Korea, Republic of 4 
			 Malaysia 26 
			 Mongolia 2 
			 Myanmar 3 
			 Nepal 10 
			 Pakistan 498 
			 Philippines 19 
			 Singapore 1 
			 Sri Lanka 150 
			 Taiwan (Nationalist Chinese) 3 
			 Thailand 5 
			 Vietnam 462 
			   
			 Total Central and South America 277 
			 Argentina 3 
			 Bolivia 10 
			 Brazil 56 
			 Chile 18 
			 Colombia 68 
			 Costa Rica 7 
			 Ecuador 14 
			 El Salvador 1 
			 French Guiana 2 
			 Guatemala 4 
			 Guyana 26 
			 Mexico 37 
			 Nicaragua 2 
			 Panama 1 
			 Paraguay 1 
			 Peru 6 
			 Suriname 2 
			 Venezuela 19 
			   
			 Total Europe 4,293 
			 Albania 173 
			 Armenia 6 
			 Austria 12 
		
	
	
		
			 Azerbaijan 5 
			 Belgium 25 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 13 
			 Bulgaria 51 
			 Croatia 11 
			 Cyprus 32 
			 Czech Republic 95 
			 Denmark 13 
			 Estonia 35 
			 Finland 5 
			 France 122 
			 Georgia 9 
			 Germany 83 
			 Gibraltar 2 
			 Greece 15 
			 Hungary 46 
			 Irish Republic 731 
			 Italy 85 
			 Kazakhstan 4 
			 Latvia 221 
			 Lithuania 434 
			 Macedonia 7 
			 Malta 3 
			 Moldova 11 
			 Netherlands 144 
			 Norway 4 
			 Poland 762 
			 Portugal 230 
			 Romania 436 
			 Russian Federation 68 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 43 
			 Slovakia 78 
			 Slovenia 1 
			 Spain 81 
			 Sweden 22 
			 Switzerland 6 
			 Turkey 131 
			 Ukraine 35 
			 Uzbekistan 3 
			   
			 Total North America 95 
			 Canada 25 
			 United States 70 
			   
			 Total Middle East 509 
			 Iran 215 
			 Iraq 197 
			 Israel 36 
			 Jordan 4 
			 Kuwait 13 
			 Lebanon 13 
			 Qatar 1 
			 Saudi Arabia 8 
			 Syrian Arab Republic 13 
			 United Arab Emirates 1 
			 Yemen, Republic of 8 
			   
			 Total Oceania 30 
			 Australia 18 
			 Fiji 6 
			 Kiribati 1 
			 New Zealand 4 
			 Samoa 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Total West Indies 1,089 
			 Antigua and Barbuda 3 
			 Bahamas 5 
			 Barbados 39 
			 Bermuda 8 
			 Cayman Islands 2 
			 Cuba 5 
			 Dominica 12 
			 Dominican Republic 1 
			 Grenada 14 
			 Jamaica 885 
			 Montserrat 12 
			 Netherlands Antilles 2 
			 St Kitts and Nevis 5 
			 St Lucia 19 
			 St Vincent and the Grenadines 15 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 62

Prisons

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prison staff and (b) sub-contractors have been (i) arrested and (ii) dismissed for bringing mobile telephones or drugs into prisons in the last 12 months.

Crispin Blunt: Information relating to public sector prison staff who have been arrested is not held centrally. However, for the 12-month period from February 2011 to January 2012 a total of 19 public sector prison staff were dismissed for the disciplinary reason of either “Trafficking” or having a “Criminal Conviction”, of which three have been recorded with a sub-charge relating to “Trafficking of Mobile Phones”, “Trafficking of Mobile Phones/Drugs” or “Possession/Supply of Drugs”. The reasons for dismissal in the remaining 16 cases have not been recorded centrally, but we will seek to obtain the information from individual case files and I will write to the hon. Member with the outcome of these inquiries when they have been completed.
	Information on sub-contractors is not held centrally.
	In contracted sector prisons there have been three arrests and three dismissals for bringing mobile telephones or drugs into prisons in the last 12 months.

Prisons: Drugs

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  which prisons made available the (a) Building Skills for Recovery, (b) Prisoners Addressing Substance Related Offending (P-ASRO), (c) P-ASRO for Women, (d) Short Duration, (e) FOCUS, (f) Prison Partnership 12 Step, (g) Prisons Partnership Therapeutic Community, (h) Rehabilitation of Addicted Prisoners Trust 12 Step and (i) Bridge programme to prisoners with drug addictions in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many prisoners with drug addictions enrolled on the (a) Building Skills for Recovery, (b) Prisoners Addressing Substance Related Offending (P-ASRO), (c) P-ASRO for Women, (d) Short Duration, (e) FOCUS, (f) Prison Partnership 12 Step, (g) Prisons Partnership Therapeutic Community, (h) Rehabilitation of Addicted Prisoners Trust 12 Step and (i) Bridge programme in the year for which figures are available;
	(3)  what the cost to the public purse was of the (a) Building Skills for Recovery, (b) Prisoners Addressing Substance Related Offending (P-ASRO), (c) P-ASRO for Women, (d) Short Duration, (e) FOCUS, (f) Prison Partnership 12 Step, (g) Prisons Partnership Therapeutic Community, (h) Rehabilitation of Addicted Prisoners Trust 12 Step and (i) Bridge programme available to prisoners with drug addictions in the latest period for which figures are available.

Kenneth Clarke: Details of the prison establishments where the specified programmes were available in the last quarter of 2011-12 are set out as follows:
	(a) Building Skills for Recovery (BSR):
	Altcourse
	Aylesbury
	Bedford
	Cardiff
	Chelmsford
	Durham
	Forest Bank
	Glen Parva
	Holloway
	Leicester
	Lincoln
	Moorland Closed
	Norwich
	Onley
	Peterborough
	Portland
	Preston
	Sheppey Cluster
	Stafford
	Styal
	Wormwood Scrubs
	(b) and (c) Prisoners Addressing Substance Related Offending (P-ASRO) programme and P-ASRO for Women:
	Chelmsford
	Dartmoor
	Deerbolt
	Durham
	Featherstone
	Forest Bank
	Foston Hall
	Guys Marsh
	Haverigg
	Highpoint North
	Highpoint South
	Isle of Wight Cluster
	Kennet
	Lewes
	Lindholme
	Low Newton
	Manchester
	Northumberland
	Parc
	Portland
	Ranby
	Risley
	Rochester
	Sheppey Cluster
	Stoke Heath
	Swinfen Hall
	Wayland
	Weal stun
	Winchester
	(d) Short Duration programme:
	Altcourse
	Belmarsh
	Bullingdon
	Chelmsford
	Doncaster
	Downview
	Forest Bank
	Hewell
	High Down
	Holloway
	Holme House
	Hull
	Lancaster Farms
	Leeds
	Liverpool
	New Hall
	Northallerton
	Nottingham
	Pentonville
	Peterborough
	Reading
	Sheppey Cluster
	Swansea
	Thorn Cross
	Wandsworth
	Winchester
	Woodhill
	Wormwood Scrubs
	(e) FOCUS programme:
	Frankland
	Long Lartin
	Wakefield
	Whitemoor
	(f) Prison Partnership 12-step programme:
	Erlestoke
	(g) Prisons Partnership Therapeutic Community programme:
	Blundeston
	Channings Wood
	Dovegate
	Garth
	Gartree
	Grendon
	Holme House
	Send
	Wymott
	(h) Rehabilitation of Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPt) 12-Step programme:
	Bullingdon
	Coldingley
	Everthorpe
	Littlehey
	The Mount
	Send
	Sheppey Cluster
	Springhill
	Wandsworth
	(i) Bridge programme:
	Everthorpe
	Wandsworth
	This information has been taken from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Interventions Directory and that although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and delivery may be subject to change.
	Figures for the number of starts for the specified programmes in 2010-11 are set out as follows.
	
		
			 Programme Starts in 2010-11 
			 (a) Building Skills for Recovery (BSR) 161 
			 (b) P-ASRO 2,764 
			 (c) P-ASRO for Women 82 
			 (d) Short Duration Programme 4,639 
			 (e) FOCUS programme 97 
			 (f) Prison Partnership 12-step programme 133 
			 (g) Prisons Partnership Therapeutic Community 235 
			 (h) RAPt 12-Step—Substance Dependency(1) 598 
			 (i) Bridge programme 59 
			 Grand total 8,768 
			 (1) Details for the RAPt 12-Step Alcohol Dependency programme have been excluded from the figures that have been provided as the question was specific related to the provision of programmes to drug-addicted prisoners. 
		
	
	Please note that this is the latest period for which the requested data are available, and differs from the period for the information provided in response to the previous question about the provision of programmes.
	The costs associated with running the programmes specified in the question are not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, by obtaining information held in local and national data systems, validating it, collating it in a common format and then calculating the overall costs in order to provide a response.

Prisons: Females

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to prevent drug and alcohol misuse among those entering women's prisons.

Crispin Blunt: The Government are fully committed to addressing women's offending—both for their own good and that of the public. Many women offenders who end up in prison have highly complex needs and too many go through a revolving door of reoffending. We must ensure that women who offend are successfully rehabilitated, and that we take an approach to women in the criminal justice system that recognises their different and often complex needs, including developing responses to their substance misuse problems. The Ministry of Justice is working with the Department of Health to:
	pilot Drug Recovery Wings for short-sentenced, drug-dependent prisoners with continuity of treatment between prison and the community, including the provision of three such wings in women's prisons (HMPs New Hall, Askham Grange and Styal) from April 2012;
	explore and test options for intensive community-based treatment alternatives to custody for offenders with alcohol or drug dependency, or mental health issues, with four women-only development sites services in Wirral, Bristol, Birmingham and Tyneside;
	design and implement eight payment by results drug and alcohol recovery pilots where one of the outcomes to be incentivised is reduced reoffending; and
	develop and, subject to business case approval, roll out youth and adult liaison and diversion services at police custody and courts by 2014, for offenders with a range of vulnerabilities, including substance misuse problems.
	In addition, to help women in prison to address their drug or alcohol problem, the Department of Health is funding the re-commissioning of drug and alcohol treatment in all establishments.

Reoffenders: Curfews

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what evidence he has received on the relationship between curfew orders and reoffending rates.

Crispin Blunt: The following response uses the Ministry of Justice's published proven reoffending statistics for England and Wales, broken down further by sentence type. These statistics are published on a quarterly basis and the latest bulletin, for the period April 2009 to March 2010, was published on 26 January 2012.
	Table 1 shows the number of adult(1) offenders who were released on curfew (electronically monitored)(2) in each year between 2005 and 2009 and the proportion who reoffended within a one year follow-up period.
	
		
			  Number of offenders (3) Proportion of offenders who reoffend (percentage) 
			 2005(4) 3,657 45.7 
			 2006 10,472 44.2 
			 2007 13,916 43.2 
			 2008 16,928 42.9 
			 2009 18,521 40.9 
			 1. Offenders aged 18 years and over. 2. Curfew orders supervised by the probation service as a requirement attached to a community order or suspended sentence order. 3. This number does not represent all proven offenders. Offenders who commenced a court order are matched to the Police National Computer database. A certain proportion of these offenders cannot be matched and are, therefore, excluded from the offender cohort, ie the group of offenders for whom reoffending is measured. 4. Community orders and suspended sentence orders were introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which came into force on 4 April 2005. 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the number of juvenile(1) offenders who were released on curfew(2) in each year between 2000 and 2009 and the proportion who reoffended within a one year follow-up period.
	
		
			  Number of offenders (3) Proporti on of offenders who re offend (percentage) 
			 2000(4) 199 69.8 
			 2002 493 70.0 
			 2003 679 70.0 
		
	
	
		
			 2004 1,022 70.5 
			 2005 1,053 69.5 
			 2006 1,228 71.3 
			 2007 1,503 67.5 
			 2008 1,650 65.7 
			 2009 1,419 66.9 
			 (1) Offenders aged 17 years and under. (2) The youth curfew order was one of nine separate youth sentences that were incorporated into the youth rehabilitation order, which came into effect for offences committed from 30 November 2009. A curfew requirement is one of 18 requirements that can be made as part of the youth rehabilitation order. It is important to note, however, that youth curfew orders will continue to exist for those that committed an offence before 30 November 2009. (3 )This number does not represent all proven offenders. Offenders who commenced a court order are matched to the Police National Computer database. A certain proportion of these offenders cannot be matched and are, therefore, excluded from the offender cohort, i.e. the group of offenders for whom reoffending is measured. (4) Data are not available for 2001 due to a problem with archived data on court orders. 
		
	
	Proven reoffending is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one year period, a further six month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts. Reoffending rates for offenders receiving court orders with a curfew requirement should not be compared to the reoffending rates for other sentences, as there is no control for known differences in offender characteristics.
	2009 is the latest full calendar year for which data are available.
	Please note that reoffending statistics are available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending

Translation Services

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that unregistered interpreters working in Crown and magistrates courts are identified and prosecuted.

Crispin Blunt: Under the Ministry of Justice's Contract for Language Services, the contractor must:
	ensure that an interpreter/translator of the appropriate agreed standard (qualifications, experience and vetting) is provided for each individual assignment;
	ensure that all interpreters/translators can verify their identity and credentials to the relevant justice sector organisations for every assignment;
	ensure adherence to a code of conduct for interpreters/translators and any other rules or guidelines set by central Government; and
	have in place robust procedures to deal with poor quality interpretation/translation and inappropriate behaviour.
	The contractor has a formal investigation process for dealing with every reported issue. If the quality of any linguist is in question, the contractor will carry out the quality checks as highlighted in the investigation. Following this investigation they will either change the qualification status of the linguist while they carry out or recommend additional training or they will discontinue their engagement and strike them off the register.

Young Offenders

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young offenders he expects to take part in the successor scheme to the Daedalus initiative.

Crispin Blunt: Projected numbers will not be known until the appointment of providers later this year. I understand that the Greater London Authority (GLA) has invited organisations to bid to provide resettlement support for young offenders (aged 14 to 17) leaving custody as part of the Mayor's recently launched European Social Fund Youth Programme. This will run from 2012 to 2015 and serve the establishments where young people from London are placed. In the interim, the Youth Justice Board has committed to the continuation of its funding for the Heron Unit until September 2012, which will align with the outcome of the GLA bidding process.

Young Offenders: Haringey

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2012, Official Report, column 516W, on young offenders: Haringey, how many young adult offenders from the London borough of Haringey were held in each (a) young offender institution and (b) prison in each month since May 2009.

Crispin Blunt: All young offenders serving sentences of DYOI are held in appropriately designated YOI accommodation within the prison estate. The majority of this accommodation is in dedicated YOIs, although some establishments in the estate have a dual designation (designated both as a prison and a YOI) and hold both adult prisoners and young offenders.
	The following table shows the number of offenders aged 18 to 20-years-old with a recorded residential address or proxy in the London borough of Haringey who were held in each predominant function male young offender institution, and each prison on a set day in each month where data is available since May 2009.
	
		
			 Number and location of male and female young adult offenders (aged 18-20) originating from London borough of Haringey 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Location May Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan 
			 (a) Male young offender institutions           
			 Ashfield 1 — — 1 — 2 — — — — 
			 Aylesbury 14 7 5 8 7 6 7 8 5 6 
			 Brinsford — — — — — — — 1 1 1 
			 Feltham 28 35 39 25 33 24 31 42 40 37 
			 Glen Parva 6 4 7 2 2 1 — 1 6 3 
		
	
	
		
			 Huntercombe 4 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Isis — — — 10 10 15 19 14 25 31 
			 Lancaster Farms — 1 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 Moorland 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Onley 2 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Portland 10 5 7 3 2 2 2 — — 2 
			 Reading 1 2 1 — — 1 1 3 4 1 
			 Rochester 15 21 16 23 16 10 14 17 21 13 
			 Swinfen Hall 3 — — — — 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Warren Hill — 1 — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Woodhill 4 — — — — — — — — — 
			            
			 (b) Prisons           
			 Altcourse — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Bedford — 1 1 1 — — 1 — 1 — 
			 Bronzefield — — — — — — — 1 1 1 
			 Chelmsford 4 2 1 1 1 5 2 7 3 5 
			 Dorchester 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dover (IRC) — — — — — — — 1 1 — 
			 Downview 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Eastwood Park — — — — — 1 2 — — — 
			 Elmley — 4 1 1 3 2 — 2 — — 
			 Guys Marsh 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 High Down — — — — — — 1 1 — 1 
			 Hollesley Bay — — — — 1 1 — — — 1 
			 Holloway 4 4 3 2 5 4 — 2 2 3 
			 Hull — 1 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Littlehey — 4 5 6 9 11 15 15 12 25 
			 Moorland — 1 1 1 1 1 — — — — 
			 Norwich — — — 1 2 2 1 — — — 
			 Parc — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Pentonville — — — 1 — — — 1 — — 
			 Rye Hill — — — 1 1 — — — — — 
			 Wandsworth — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Woodhill — 1 1 — — — 1 1 1 1

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment the Government has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of attendances at accident and emergency between 2002-03 and 2010-11 as recorded in his Department's statistics.

Simon Burns: There are a variety of social and demographic factors that can contribute to an increase in accident and emergency (A&E) attendances. However, it is likely that growth in attendances has primarily been caused by: better recording of attendances due to increased focus on waiting times; the addition to the data collection, from 2002-03 onwards, of further A&E type facilities such as walk-in centres and better data collection over time from these facilities. The following tables show numbers of attendances and growth rate since 2002-03.
	
		
			  Attendances (million) 
			 Type of A&E 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 
			 Type 1—Major A&E 12.0 12.7 13.3 13.6 13.6 13.4 
			 Type 2—Single Specialty 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 
			 Type 3—Other A&E/Minor Injury/Walk in Centre 1.9 3.2 4.0 4.6 4.7 5.0 
			 All types of A&E 14.0 16.5 17.8 18.8 18.9 19.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Type of A&E 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Compound growth rate from 2002-03 (percentage) 
			 Type 1—Major A&E 13.4 13.6 13.9 14.0 1.7 
			 Type 2—Single Specialty 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 2.4 
			 Type 3—Other A&E/Minor Injury/Walk in Centre 5.5 6.2 6.8 6.8 15.4 
		
	
	
		
			 All types of A&E 19.6 20.5 21.4 21.5 4.8 
			 Notes: 1. From 2007-08, attendances at Independent Sector provided Type 3 services were included. 2. 2011-12 data sourced from weekly sitreps.

Accident and Emergency Departments

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made of the proportion of people who attended accident and emergency more than (a) twice and (b) five times a year in the last period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: In the period 2010-11, there were 15,699,746 attendances at accident and emergency departments in England, by 10,593,710 individual patients. 1,042,939 (9.8%) patients attended more than twice, and 122,310 (1.2%) attended more than five times.
	Source:
	NHS Information Centre

Alzheimer’s Disease

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the provision of health and social care for people with Alzheimer’s disease in the Tees Valley.

Paul Burstow: The provision of health and social care for people with Alzheimer’s disease is a matter for the local national health service and local authority. As such, the Department has made no assessment of these services in the Tees Valley.
	Through the ‘NHS Operating Framework’, we have asked primary care trusts to work with local authorities and publish plans which set out the progress they have made on implementing the National Dementia Strategy. These plans are published locally and are not collected centrally by the Department. The hon. Member may wish to approach the chief executive of NHS Tees, the organisation responsible for commissioning services in the Tees Valley area, for further information.

Autism

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish guidelines on commissioning services for those with conditions on the autistic spectrum.

Paul Burstow: The Department has no plans to publish guidelines on commissioning services for those with conditions on the autistic spectrum.
	The adult autism strategy and its attendant statutory guidance both promote Joint Strategic Needs Assessments as the vehicle for health and social care services to properly plan for the needs of people with autism in their area; action to be expressed through joint commissioning strategies and business cases for local solutions.
	Once it is established, it will be for the NHS Commissioning Board (the Board) to issue commissioning guidance to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The Department will hold the Board to account through the Mandate to the Board, which will include the indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework. NHS Outcomes Framework indicators include measurements on long term conditions.
	Health and well-being boards and CCGs will also be expected to ensure that they comply with all relevant legislation and statutory guidance including the Autism Act, adult autism strategy and its attendant statutory guidance.

Breasts: Plastic Surgery

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which private sector providers of PIP breast implants in the UK (a) have and (b) have not agreed to replace them free of charge; and how many patients are potentially entitled to a free replacement.

Simon Burns: According to the information available on their websites or the replies to an earlier inquiry by the Independent Healthcare Advisory Service, the position for the larger providers of cosmetic surgery which have used PIP implants is as follows:
	Free replacement (unconditional): BMI Healthcare, Bridgewater Hospital, Make Yourself Amazing, Spire Healthcare
	Free replacement (if clinical need): Aspen Healthcare, Nuffield Healthcare, Ramsay Healthcare
	Free replacement (if evidence of rupture): Harley Medical(1), Court House Clinics
	Charge for replacement: Fairfield Hospital, Linia Cosmetic Surgery(2), Surgicare Medical Group, The Hospital Group, Transform
	Position unclear: New Victoria Hospital.
	Current evidence suggests that up to 45,000 women may have received a PIP implant from a private provider, although it is not known how many of these are still in place. In the Government's view, all these women should be entitled to a replacement without charge.
	(1) If rupture is confirmed within six years of implantation
	(2) No charge by provider or its surgeons—may charge for cost of implant

Care Homes: Standards

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what performance standards residential care homes are required to meet on quality of care.

Paul Burstow: All providers of regulated activities, including care homes, are required by law to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and comply with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010.
	CQC assesses care providers against 16 registration requirements governing essential levels of safety and quality. CQC has a wide range of independent enforcement powers that it can use if it considers providers are not meeting the requirements.
	CQC is responsible for developing and consulting on its methodology for assessing whether providers are meeting the registration requirements. It published its ‘Guidance About Compliance: Essential standards of quality and safety’ in March 2010. This can be found on the CQC website at:
	www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/documents/gac_-_dec_2011_update.pdf

Dental Services

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason 
	(1)  dentists are required to register with the Care Quality Commission as well as the General Dental Council; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  all partners in a dental practice need to register individually with the Care Quality Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: All providers of regulated activities are required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A service provider can be an individual, a partnership or an organisation. It is the legal entity responsible for providing the service that is required to register with CQC. Where an activity is provided by a partnership, all of the partners are required to be fit to carry on the regulated activity, but they are not required to register separately.
	While the system of regulation operated by the General Dental Council focuses on individual professionals and their individual clinical fitness, regulation by the CQC focuses on the way systems and organisations are managed. This is as important in protecting patient safety as the competence of individual professionals. The CQC regulates the organisation that provides the services, and can take enforcement action against that body if it does not meet essential levels of safety and quality. Regulation by the CQC has additional benefits in that the CQC actively monitor providers' compliance against its registration requirements. This allows CQC to take swift action as soon as problems arise.

Dental Services

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what access the Care Quality Commission has to dental patients' records; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the Care Quality Commission inspects in dental practices; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors directly observe care and talk to patients or people using the service, as well as staff. Inspectors focus on identifying the provider's compliance against the 16 essential standards of safety and quality but will also describe what they see, hear and find, including care that is meeting the essential standard.
	The Health and Social Care Act 2008 specifies that the CQC may require any person carrying on or managing a regulated activity to provide it with any information, documents or records, including personal and medical records, which the Commission considers it necessary or expedient to have for the purpose of any of its regulatory functions.

Dental Services: Cosmetics

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he will take to discourage the illegal practice of tooth whitening carried out by anyone other than General Dental Council registered dentists or registered dental professionals under the guidance of a registered dentist; what steps he will take to ensure that prosecutions are brought when there is evidence of this practice taking place; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Simon Burns: Last September the European Union adopted a new directive, which reinforced the position taken by the General Dental Council that tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry, which can only be carried out by a registered dentist or dental care professional. We plan to transpose the directive by 31 October 2012 through amendment to the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations. New, more explicit legislation will aid the regulation of this potentially hazardous procedure. Meanwhile the General Dental Council continues to take action on the illegal practice of dentistry. For example, on 5 January 2012, a ‘cosmetologist’ was successfully prosecuted for offering tooth-whitening treatment.

Drugs: Delivery Services

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2012, Official Report, column 123W, on drugs: delivery services, if he will estimate the number of emergency deliveries made to pharmacies.

Simon Burns: I refer the hon. Member back to the answer I gave him on 12 March 2012, Official Report, columns 122-23W.

Email

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the period for which emails sent and received by (a) Ministers, (b) officials, and (c) special advisers in his Department are retained; and whether such emails are recoverable from the IT systems in his Department after that period.

Simon Burns: The Department's policy is to retain emails on the same basis as other records, according to business need, rather than for a specified period. Emails are retained in the Department's record keeping systems if they are needed for business use or accountability, and deleted as soon as possible when they no longer have business value. This policy reflects ‘model 2’ in the guidance issued by the Cabinet Office ‘Guidance on Private Office Records’ issued in 2009.
	Deleted emails may be recovered from system backups taken for business continuity purposes, provided they were present when a backup was taken.

Employment and Support Allowance

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people appealing a decision on entitlement to employment and support allowance were successful in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The information requested is not available.

Epilepsy

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 107W, on epilepsy study on late diagnosis, with reference to the fact that the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead has supplied the office of the Minister for Care Services with a copy of his letter of 8 February 2012, if he will now respond to the original question.

Paul Burstow: The Department's Policy Research Programme commissioned the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre at the Institute of Education, in partnership with the Policy Research Unit on Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis to carry out a systematic rapid evidence assessment to identify the nature and extent of United Kingdom evidence on delayed diagnosis.
	A number of conditions were identified where there was sufficient evidence to conduct an in-depth review. This included epilepsy but did not include non-epileptic seizure disorders at this stage.
	The review is about late diagnosis rather than misdiagnosis. If misdiagnosis is identified as a factor in late diagnosis in the evidence assessment then this will be highlighted in the report.
	Feedback from patient groups on late diagnosis was a factor in the decision to commission this study. Patients and patient groups have not been consulted as part of the systematic rapid evidence assessment to date, however, their involvement in consideration of the review findings and any next steps will be considered.
	The final report of the systematic rapid evidence assessment is expected to be submitted to the Department in summer 2012. A plan to disseminate the findings will be considered.

General Practitioners: Foreign Nationals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what documentation a foreign national who seeks to register with a GP is required to provide;
	(2)  whether a foreign national on a six month visitor's visa is entitled to register with a GP;
	(3)  on what grounds a GP whose list has not been closed may refuse an application to register from a foreign national.

Simon Burns: Under the terms of their existing contract, general practitioners (GPs) have discretion in accepting applications to join their lists. However, they cannot turn down an applicant on discriminatory grounds. They can only turn down an application if the primary care trust has agreed that they can close their list to new patients or if they have other reasonable non-discriminatory grounds.
	There is no formal requirement to provide documentation when registering with a GP. However, many GPs, when considering applications, request proof of identity and confirmation of address, but in doing so they must not act in a discriminatory way.
	A decision on whether to register a foreign national who has a six-month visitor visa is therefore currently for the GP to consider. However, we announced last year that a review was under way that is considering the future entitlement of foreign nationals to access free national health service care. A formal consultation will take place once that review has been completed should it result in proposals to change any current arrangements.

Health and Social Care Act 2010-12

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his timetable is for making regulations and orders under the Health and Social Care Act 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Many of the regulations and orders to be made under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 will come into force on 1 April 2013. This is the intended date for the NHS Commissioning Board to take on its full statutory functions; local authorities to take on new public health responsibilities; local Healthwatch organisations to come into being; and strategic health authorities and primary care trusts to be abolished. Other changes are planned for different dates; Healthwatch England will come into existence in October 2012, and the health special administration regime for organisations providing NHS services will come into force in April 2014. Negative statutory instruments and draft affirmative instruments will be laid in accordance with this timetable.

Health and Social Care Bill 2010-12

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions has he had with the Scottish Minister for Health on provisions in the Health and Social Care Bill that affect Scotland in regard to (a) the General Medical Council, (b) xenotransplantations and (c) abortions.

Anne Milton: Department of Health Ministers and the Scottish Minister for Health have not met specifically to discuss the Health and Social Care Act.
	Provisions which apply to Scotland have been discussed at official level between the Department, the Scotland Office, and the Scottish Government.
	The Health and Social Care Act 2012 does not make changes relating to xenotransplantation or abortion in Scotland. The Act does contain provisions relating to professional regulation. Those provisions relating to medical adjudication were a reserved matter, but were discussed with the Scottish Government in the normal manner.

Health Services

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget is of the North of England Strategic Health Authority in financial year 2012-13.

Simon Burns: The North of England Strategic Health Authority cluster's allocation for its core administration costs in 2012-13 is £25.8 million.

Health Services

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many days per week the Chief Executive of NHS North of England works (a) within the Strategic Health Authority cluster and (b) in his role as Chief Operating Officer of the NHS Commissioning Board Authority.

Simon Burns: NHS North of England chief executive, Ian Dalton, has confirmed that he works two days per week in the chief operating officer role at the NHS Commissioning Board Authority and three days per week in his role as chief executive of NHS North of England.

Health Services

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to prevent conflicts of interest between officials in roles in the NHS Commissioning Board Authority and roles held concurrently in strategic health authorities.

Simon Burns: A paper on standards of business conduct, tabled at the NHS Commissioning Board Authority's board meeting on 2 February, set out the Authority's policy on conflicts of interest for staff. This paper can be found on the Authority's website at:
	www.commissioningboard.nhs.uk/2012/01/26/board-meeting-020212/
	As part of this policy, and as required by its standing orders, the Authority maintains a publicly available register of its board members', interests. This register can be found on the Authority's website at:
	www.commissioningboard.nhs.uk/2012/01/16/register-of-members-interests/

Health Services

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much expenditure per head of population there was in the (a) North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust area, (b) Bradford and Airedale Primary Care Trust area and (c) area covered by the Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority in the financial year 2010-11.

Simon Burns: The amounts spent per head of population in 2010-11 by North Yorkshire and York primary care trust (PCT) area, Bradford and Airedale PCT area and the sum of the constituent PCTs in the Yorkshire and Humber strategic health authority (SHA) patch are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Organisation Expenditure per head of population 2010-11 (£) 
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT 1,511 
			 Bradford and Airedale PCT 1,711 
			 All PCTs in Yorkshire and Humber SHA Economy Area 1,708 
			 Note: How much expenditure per head of population is interpreted to mean the total revenue expenditure of the PCTs, which is the net operating cost. The net operating cost is taken from the audited summarisation schedules of PCTs for 2010-11, from which the NHS (England) Summarised Accounts are prepared. This figure is divided by the PCTs resident population to derive the spend per head figure provided above. Source: Audited Summarisation Schedules for PCTs in England 2010-11

Maternity Services

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of babies was on a post-natal ward during night time hours at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

Anne Milton: The information requested is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust directly for information on the number of babies on a post-natal ward during night time hours.

Midwives

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time permanent midwives were working in a single shift in (a) the South West, (b) South East Cornwall and (c) the city of Plymouth in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anne Milton: Information is not held in the format requested. The following table shows the ratio of national health service hospital and community health services: qualified midwives by nature of contract in the South West strategic health authority area and in each specified organisation as at 30 September 2011.
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives by nature of contract in the South West strategic health authority area and in each specified organisation as at 30 September 2011 
			  Headcount Full - time equivalent 
			 South West strategic health authority area   
			 All registered midwives 2,416 1,861 
			 Full-time 727 727 
			 Part-time 1,690 1,134 
			    
			 Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust   
			 All registered midwives 171 126 
			 Full-time 37 37 
			 Part-time 134 89 
			    
			 Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust   
			 All registered midwives 179 137 
			 Full-time 53 53 
			 Part-time 126 84 
			 Notes: 1. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Midwives

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwifery posts were filled by temporary staff at (a) the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and (b) Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010 and (iii) 2011.

Anne Milton: The information requested is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to approach the two national health service trusts directly for information on staffing.

Midwives

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of patients per qualified midwife on a post-natal ward was at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust for night time hours in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

Anne Milton: The information requested is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact the Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust for information about midwife to patient ratios.
	The Royal College of Midwives has previously recommended a ratio of 1:28. However, the birth to midwives ratio is an indication of throughput only, and does not indicate the safety or quality of service provided.

NHS

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department requires the publication of data on local NHS (a) performance, (b) outcomes and (c) use; and what data is required to be published by independent providers of local NHS services.

Simon Burns: The Health and Social Care Act 2012 includes provisions marking a step-change in the health and care sector's approach to transparency, growth and open data. It requires the Health and Social Care Information Centre to publish (in safe, ‘de-identifiable’ format) virtually all of the data it is required to collect across the health and care sector. The Department, the NHS Commissioning Board, the Care Quality Commission, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and Monitor will each commission data that the Information Centre will be required to collect, including data about performance, outcomes and use.
	The Act requires the Information Centre to maintain and publish a register (‘catalogue’) of the data it has collected. In addition, the Department will ask the Information Centre to undertake work to develop an inventory of the wealth of data collected by other parts of the health and social care system so that over time it can provide a single source of information on the data that is collected and where it can be accessed.
	Independent sector providers of national health service commissioned services are required to meet the same data reporting requirements as NHS providers for the NHS commissioned services.

NHS Property Services

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what input (a) clinical commissioning groups and (b) foundation trusts will have into decisions on assets held by NHS Property Services Ltd.

Simon Burns: NHS Property Services Ltd will work closely with the NHS Commissioning Board, clinical commissioning groups, health and wellbeing boards and national health service providers to respond appropriately to commissioning and service needs in the management of its portfolio, the disposal of surplus estate and the development of new buildings where appropriate.

Obesity

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has undertaken research to examine the potential cost savings for the NHS of bariatric surgery for obese patients.

Simon Burns: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme has funded a systematic review and economic evaluation of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of bariatric surgery for obesity. The report was published in 2009 and is available on the HTA website at:
	www.hta.ac.uk/project/1742.asp

Prescription Drugs

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of stock levels of prescription medicines.

Simon Burns: Separate assessments are regularly made to ensure fair reimbursement to community pharmacies for the products they supply when providing NHS pharmaceutical services. Between the beginning of April 2012 and 17 April 2012, detailed assessments have been made for Betahistine 8 mg tablets, Betahistine 16 mg tablets, Repaglinide 2 mg tablets, Ketoprofen 2% gel, Nitrazepam 5 mg tablets and Tolbutamide 500 mg tablets.
	The Department works closely with suppliers and other stakeholders to minimise the effect of medicines shortages on patients. This can include where necessary, making assessments of the stock levels of particular prescription medicines. None of these assessments have been made in the same time period.

Prostate Cancer: Surgery

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) admissions and (b) emergency admissions took place for open excision of the prostate procedures for patients aged (i) 15-39, (ii) 40-49, (iii) 50-54, (iv) 55-59, (v) 60-64, (vi) 65-69, (vii) 70-74 and (viii) 75 years and over in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: Information concerning the number of admissions and emergency admissions for patients undergoing open excision of the prostate procedures aged 15 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 54, 55 to 59, 60 to 64, 65 to 69, 70 to 74 and 75 years and over in each of the last three years for which figures are available has been placed in the following table.
	
		
			 Total number of finished admissions episodes (1)  (FAEs) and FAEs where the method of admission is 'Emergency’ (2)  where a main operative procedure (3)  as identified has been carried out by age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs Total FAEs Emergency FAEs 
			 15 to 39 6 0 9 1 12 -0 
			 40 to 49 133 0 194 1 211 4 
			 50 to 54 352 3 415 7 421 3 
			 55 to 59 787 8 898 15 909 4 
			 60 to 64 1,372 16 1,477 28 1,532 8 
			 65 to 69 1,281 10 1,601 20 1,777 9 
			 70 to 74 568 8 776 15 810 10 
			 75 and over 390 12 385 10 350 7 
			 (1 )An FAE is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2 )An emergency admission is one where the admission method is recorded as one of the following codes: 21: Emergency—via accident and emergency (A and E) services, including the casualty department of the provider 22: Emergency—via general practitioner 23: Emergency—via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau 24: Emergency—via consultant out-patient clinic 28: Emergency—other means, including patients who arrive via the A and E department. (3) The first recorded procedure or intervention in each episode, usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, (e.g. time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedures. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.

Simon Burns: None of the Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007.
	Formal verification of compliance with the various obligations set out under the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation is handled internally, in accordance with the obligation under the Code to monitor the effectiveness of consultation exercises.
	It is normal practice for the Department to publish a response to formal written consultation exercises, consistent with the Code. Publication of consultation responses promotes transparency and provides the opportunity for external scrutiny of the consultation process independent of Government.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department collects the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations.

Simon Burns: Not all responses to public consultations are received electronically, some are fed in through other channels such as discussion forums and public meetings. Where responses are received through the Department's online consultation platform an IP address is stored with a response.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Simon Burns: All responses, including anonymous ones, (both written responses and those fed in through other channels such as discussion forums and public meetings) are considered and analysed carefully.
	It is normal practice for the Department to publish a response to formal written consultation exercises, consistent with the code of practice on consultation. Publication of consultation responses allows an opportunity to highlight who has contributed to public consultation exercises, promoting transparency and providing the opportunity for external scrutiny of the consultation process independent of Government.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: For the purposes of this parliamentary question, the Department defines retirement as happening when a member of staff decides to leave our employment at or after the pension age for their pension scheme. For the majority of the Department's civil servants pension age is 60.
	Since May 2010, 68 civil servants in grades Administration Officer—Grade 6 (AO-G6) and 14 senior civil servants have retired.
	The Department has also approved a number of voluntary exits since March 2010. Of those who have left, 69 at grades AO-G6 and 30 senior civil servants (a total of 99) have chosen to access their pension before their normal retirement age.
	There have also been four medical retirements in the period—three at grades AO-G6 and one senior civil servant.

Social Services

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on social care for (a) the elderly, (b) those with mental health problems, (c) those with learning disabilities and (d) younger physically disabled persons in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Burstow: The requested figures are collected through the Personal Social Services Expenditure and Unit Cost (PSSEXl) return, collected annually by the NHS Information Centre. The following table contains the information requested.
	
		
			 Gross social care expenditure, England 
			 £ million 
			 Social care expenditure by group 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Older people 6,170 6,860 7,380 7,970 8,390 8,660 8,770 9,080 9,390 9,440 
			 Adults aged 18-64 with a physical disability 930 1,050 1,140 1,340 1,360 1,420 1,480 1,560 1,650 1,660 
			 Adults aged 18-64 with learning disabilities 1,900 2,250 2,610 2,850 3,110 3,290 3,450 3,810 4,010 4,190 
			 Adults aged 18-64 with mental health needs 720 810 940 1,000 1,060 1,070 1,120 1,160 1,220 1,220 
			 Note: Figures do not add up to total social care expenditure. Source: NHS Information Centre, PSSEXl final return, 2010-11 report, and 2005-06 report.

Social Services

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an estimate of potential costs to the NHS arising from ill health as a result of (a) falls by and (b) deterioration in existing conditions of adults who will not receive social care because councils have introduced restrictions on the eligibility criteria for such care.

Paul Burstow: The Department has not made an estimate of the potential cost to the national health service arising from ill health as a result of falls. However it estimated that the annual cost of health and social care for the care of all the hip fracture patients in the United Kingdom amounts to approximately £2 billion.
	The Department does not formally monitor changes to local authority social care eligibility criteria and therefore does not hold information on potential costs to the NHS arising from ill health as a result of existing conditions of adults who will not receive social care because councils have introduced restrictions on the eligibility criteria for such care. Allocations of resources at a local level is the responsibility of local authorities who are best placed to understand the needs of their community.
	Councils should use the framework set out in the guidance ‘Prioritising need in the context of Putting People First: A whole system approach to eligibility for social care’, to draw up local eligibility criteria. This is graded into four bands:
	critical;
	substantial;
	moderate; and
	low.
	On 11 May 2011, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services published a survey that indicated that 13% (19) councils had changed their eligibility criteria between 2010-11 and 2011-12, of whom 15 councils moved from moderate to substantial. According to the survey, there are now 78% (116) councils at substantial, 15% (22) at moderate, 3% (4) at low and 4% (6) at critical.
	In addition, the Audit Commission's 2008 report: ‘The Effect of Fair Access to Care Services Bands on Expenditure and Service Provision’ found there is no directly observable link between the council's eligibility criteria policy and emergency admissions to hospital.

Surgery

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes took place for (a) colorectal excision, (b) open excision of the prostate, (c) breast excision, (d) inguinal hernia repair and (e) abdominal aortic aneurysm aorta replacement procedures for patients aged (i) 15-39, (ii) 40-49, (iii) 50-54, (iv) 55-59, (v) 60-64, (vi) 65-69, (vii) 70-74 and (viii) 75 years and over in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and in how many such cases were the patients men.

Paul Burstow: Information concerning the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) for colorectal excision, open excision of the prostate, breast excision, inguinal hernia repair and abdominal aortic aneurysm aorta replacement procedures for patients aged 15-39, 40-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74 and 75, years and over in each of the last three years for which figures are available and in which cases the gender has been recorded as male has been placed in the following tables. It should be noted, these data do not indicate the total number of FCE for male patients, as there may be episodes where the gender of the patient has not been recorded.
	
		
			 Colorectal excision 
			 Total number of FCE (1)  and FCEs where the patient gender is ‘male’ with main operative procedure (2)  as specified by patient age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male 
			 15-39 5,503 2,839 5,965 3,104 6,437 3,285 
			 40-49 7,780 4,130 8,526 4,586 9,362 4,989 
			 50-54 6,180 3,447 6,822 3,799 7,827 4,344 
			 55-59 8,643 4,930 9,113 5,267 10,361 5,793 
			 60-64 15,682 9,437 18,308 11,063 21,506 13,238 
			 65-69 16,240 9,823 18,987 11,610 22,346 13,667 
			 70-74 14,327 8,264 15,859 9,227 18,785 11,023 
			 75 and over. 25,641 13,130 27,888 14,353 30,030 15,552 
		
	
	
		
			 Open excision of prostate 
			 Total number of FCE (1)  and FCEs where the patient gender is ‘male’ with main operative procedure (2)  as specified by patient age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male 
			 15-39 6 6 9 9 12 12 
			 40-49 135 135 197 197 212 212 
			 50-54 353 353 417 416 426 426 
			 55-59 792 791 905 905 918 918 
			 60-64 1,386 1,385 1,492 1,492 1,553 1,551 
			 65-69 1,292 1,292 1,616 1,616 1,795 1,795 
			 70-74 573 573 791 791 825 825 
			 75 and over 397 397 399 399 357 357 
		
	
	
		
			 Breast excision 
			 Total number of FCE (1)  and FCEs where the patient gender is 'male' with main operative procedure (2)  as specified by patient age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Mal e 
			 15-39 9,085 1,198 9,196 1,220 8,634 1,012 
			 40-49 10,449 217 10,697 216 11,247 166 
			 50-54 7,009 65 7,018 74 7,317 82 
			 55-59 6,100 83 5,741 59 5,644 70 
			 60-64 7,431 81 7,587 87 7,540 98 
			 65-69 6,084 78 3,622 72 6,698 85 
			 70-74 3,796 86. 3,770 65 4,079 76 
			 75 and over 6,044 97 .6,429 104 6,582 112 
		
	
	
		
			 Inguinal hernia repair 
			 Total number of FCE (1)  and FCEs where the patient gender is 'male' with . main operative procedure (2 ) as specified by patient age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male 
			 15-39 11,038 10,349 10,134 9,529 10,004 9,400 
			 40-49 9,311 8,633 9,049 8,367 9,084 8,412 
			 50-54 5,262 4,984 5,141 4,850 5,139 4,844 
			 55-59 6,988 6,655 6,445 6,168 6,318 6,025 
			 60-64 9,163 8,721 8,812 8,387 8,860 8,395 
			 65-69 8,084 7,589 7,891 7,437 8,100 7,561 
			 70-74 7,946 7,393 7,704 7,135 7,440 6,888 
			 75 and over 14,744 13,058 14,319 12,636 13,968 12,338 
		
	
	
		
			 Abdominal aortic aneurysm aorta replacement 
			 Total number of FCE (1)  and FCEs where the patient gender is ‘male’ with main operative procedure (2)  as specified by patient age group for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  2009-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Patient age group Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male Total FCEs Male 
			 15-39 5 3 2 — 4 1 
			 40-49 6 4 11 9 10 8 
			 50-54 23 22 22 22 27 21 
			 55-59 115 110 88 84 81 73 
			 60-64 294 272 304 276 277 259 
			 65-69 583 517 513 457 434 381 
			 70-74 848 728 777 681 641 517 
			 75 and over 1,555 1,224 1,333 1,062 1,134 916 
			 Notes: 1. A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. 2. The first recorded procedure or intervention in each episode, usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main . procedure when looking at admission details, (e.g. time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedures. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Surgery

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training events and workshops organised by his Department took place as part of the NHS Enhanced Recovery Programme in each of the last seven years for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The Enhanced Recovery Partnership Programme ran for two years in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	In 2009-10, the Department organised four national events and four workshops. In 2010-11, the Department organised three national events.

Surgery

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many individual orthopaedic surgical procedures took place in each acute trust that (a) fully and (b) partly complied with the NHS Enhanced Recovery model in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many individual colorectal surgical procedures took place in each acute trust that (a) fully and (b) partly complied with the NHS Enhanced Recovery model in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The Department does not collect data from the national health service on NHS acute trusts uptake of the enhanced recovery model.

Tuberculosis

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider commissioning Find and Treat on contracts with a duration greater than one year.

Anne Milton: The commissioning of the Find and Treat services in London is a matter for local national health service organisations.
	The NHS in London commissions Find and Treat services on behalf of London's primary care trusts using the standard NHS contract of one year's duration. This is in line with the vast majority of other NHS services. The current commissioners are working with emerging clinical commissioning groups in London to consider the sustainability and funding for Find and Treat services beyond 31 March 2013.

Tuberculosis

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidance on hard to reach groups, whether local authorities will be required to commission (a) active case finding, (b) awareness raising activities, (c) diagnostic and treatment services, (d) directly observed therapy and (e) cohort review tuberculosis services.

Anne Milton: Under the reform of the national health service and public health system set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012, local authorities will not be required to commission services to prevent and control tuberculosis (TB).
	However, from 1 April 2013 unitary and upper tier local authorities will be required to take steps they consider appropriate for improving the health of their population. This will enable them to commission any services relating to TB which they consider appropriate under that duty, such as awareness-raising activities.
	The majority of services to prevent and control TB are likely to be commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.

Tuberculosis

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's public health guidance 37, Identifying and managing tuberculosis among hard-to-reach groups, published in March 2012, what steps he is taking to ensure that looked-after children are screened and treated for tuberculosis.

Anne Milton: Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the children they look after have their health needs met in partnership with local national health service organisations, as part of a child's individual care plan.
	The recent public guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, ‘Identifying and managing tuberculosis among hard-to-reach groups’, will assist commissioners and providers of tuberculosis (TB) services and other statutory organisations, such as local authorities, in ensuring that hard-to-reach groups at risk of TB are tested and offered treatment where necessary.

DEFENCE

AgustaWestland

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether his Department had discussions with Augusta Westland prior to its decision to withdraw work contracts from Vector Aerospace;
	(2)  whether any of his Department's contracts with Augusta Westland have been re-negotiated in the last 12 months.

Peter Luff: holding answer 16 April 2012
	The decision by AgustaWestland not to extend their subcontracts with Vector Aerospace for the repair and overhaul of Sea King and Lynx parts was taken for commercial reasons. The selection of subcontractors is a choice for the prime contractor. AgustaWestland did notify the Ministry of Defence in advance of this decision and of their intent to provide employment opportunities in Yeovil for staff impacted by this decision. They also provided assurances that these revised arrangements would not adversely impact either the provision of military capability or the cost of providing that capability.
	We regularly review and amend our contracts with industry, including with AgustaWestland, to ensure they remain current and fit for purpose.

Aircraft Carriers

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what his most recent estimate is of the funding required for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arrestor Gear;
	(2)  what his most recent estimate is of the cost of adapting the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers to receive catapults and arrestor gear; how much has been spent to date; and if he will make a statement.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the total cost of converting (a) one or (b) both Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers to operate the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arrestor Gear;
	(2)  what design changes to the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers were needed to accommodate the larger F-35C variant; and what the cost to the public purse was of such changes;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the purchase of long lead items for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arrestor Gear; and when he expects such contracts to be placed;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the cost to date of converting the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers with Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arrestor Gear;
	(5)  if he will estimate the cost of all end-to-end equipment for catapult and trap operations on the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what savings were expected to accrue from the decision to replace the Short Take-Off Vertical Landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter with the carrier variant;
	(2)  what the additional cost was to the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier programme of the decision to replace the Short Take-Off Vertical Landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter with the carrier variant; and how much of this expenditure will be written off in the event that a decision is made to return to a vertical take-off aircraft;
	(3)  what estimate of the cost of fitting catapult and arrestor technology was provided to Ministers in his Department when the decision to replace the Short Take-Off Vertical Landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter with the carrier variant was taken.

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the costs incurred in converting the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers to operate the F-35C to date.

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent by his Department on examining the feasibility of the US Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System catapult and the US Advanced Arrestor Gear recovery system.

Peter Luff: holding answer 19 March 2012
	Our recent investigations have been assessing the time and cost implications of a conversion to Carrier Variant. We are currently finalising the 2012-13 budget and balancing the equipment plan. As part of this process we are reviewing all programmes, including elements of the carrier strike programme, to validate costs and ensure risks are properly managed. The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), expects to announce the outcome of this process to Parliament soon.

Aircraft Carriers

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) officials of his Department and (b) service personnel have been assigned to the Queen Elizabeth-class carrier conversion project since October 2010.

Peter Luff: holding answer 19 March 2012
	The conversion of the Queen Elizabeth (QE) class aircraft carriers is not considered to be a stand-alone project, but rather an extension of the core QE build project. The Capital Ships project team currently has 64 staff members assigned to the QE class, of which 42 are MOD officials and 22 are military personnel. These posts have been providing support to both the core QE build and conversion investigations.

Aircraft Carriers

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether UK service personnel have served in the US to gain experience of handling and flying catapult-assisted take-off barrier arrested recovery aircraft;
	(2)  what the cost to the public purse has been of sending individuals to the US to gain experience of handling and flying catapult-assisted take-off barrier arrested recovery aircraft;
	(3)  how many (a) pilots, (b) service personnel and (c) civilian personnel have been trained to operate the catapult and arrestor gear as part of the conversion of the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier announced in the strategic defence and security review;
	(4)  how much his Department has spent on training individuals to handle and fly CATOBAR aircraft.

Peter Luff: holding answer 26 March 2012
	Two Royal Navy personnel from the aircraft handling specialisation have previously undertaken preliminary training with the United States Navy in the operation of catapult and arrestor gear aircraft operations. Seven Royal Navy pilots have also been trained to operate US Navy aircraft utilising catapult and arrestor gear, as part of the training programme for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. No Royal Air Force or civilian personnel have taken part in such training programmes.
	The costs associated with this training are currently being collated and I will write to the right hon. Member as soon as they are available.

Armed Forces

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the home base or headquarters is of each (a) Army regiment, (b) naval unit (excluding naval vessels) and (c) Royal Air Force group.

Andrew Robathan: Due to the number of establishments involved, this will take some time to compile. Once complete, I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the information in the Library of the House.

Army: Recruitment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much his Department expects to save by awarding Serco the contract to run recruitment to the Army;
	(2)  if he will estimate the number of recruitment offices which will close as a result of his decision to award Serco the contract to run recruitment to the Army.

Andrew Robathan: Serco has not been awarded the contract to run recruitment for the Army. The contract for the Recruiting Partnering Project (RPP) has been placed with Capita Business Services Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Capita Group plc, to deliver Army recruiting in partnership with the Army. The contract was signed on 12 March 2012.
	Although the detailed plan is still subject to negotiation between the Army and Capita, the Army anticipates that there will be an overall reduction of around 50% in the number of recruitment offices. This is a process that the Army started well before the RPP contract award, as the Army continually adjusts its footprint to reflect changing demand and demographics, and to realise efficiencies in the current operation. To illustrate, since March 2011 some 17 high street offices have closed or been relocated; a further 11 are due to close this year.
	The contract will deliver benefits in excess of £300 million over the 10-year life of the contract, as well as providing assured and incentivised levels of recruiting performance for the Army.

Army: Recruitment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's staff will be made redundant as a result of his decision to award Serco the contract to run recruitment to the Army.

Andrew Robathan: Serco has not been awarded the contract to run recruitment for the Army. The contract for the Recruiting Partnering Project has been placed with Capita Business Services Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Capita Group plc, to deliver Army recruiting in partnership with the Army. The contract was signed on 12 March 2012.
	The project will see upwards of 1,100 military staff released from recruiting tasks and redeployed to other military tasks across the Army. It will also see in the order of 300 civil service posts transfer to Capita.
	In accordance with the requirements of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, the Ministry of Defence is now informing and consulting about the transfer with the recognised trade unions. This process will include providing information received from Capita about the measures they intend taking that will have an effect on those civilian staff in the affected posts on the day of transfer. Until the outcome of this process concludes, it is too early to comment on any potential redundancies that Capita may wish to make.

Army: Scotland

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the capacity review of the army estate in Scotland to be completed.

Andrew Robathan: The capacity review of the army estate in Scotland is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2012.

Consultants

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many consultants work for his Department in each team under the Framework Agreement for Technical Support; and how many such staff had previously worked for (a) his Department and (b) the armed forces.

Peter Luff: holding answer 19 March 2012
	The Ministry of Defence does not procure management consultancy, as defined by the Cabinet Office Efficiency Reform Group, through the Framework Agreement for Technical Support (FATS). Some firms who supply management consultancy services are also members of FATS, which reflects that they also have technical support capabilities within their portfolio. Any tasks placed with them will be for specialist technical support and not management consultancy where the necessary expertise does not exist within the MOD. The Department does not maintain a record of staff provided by suppliers under FATS.

Defence Exports Support Group

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who the members are of the Defence Exports Support Group; how often it meets; what its budget is; and who his Department's Director is with responsibility for export co-ordination.

Peter Luff: The core membership of the Defence Export Support Group (DESG) is:
	Secretary of State for Defence
	Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
	Minister for International Security Strategy
	Head, Defence and Security Organisation, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).
	Other Ministers and/or senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills may attend as appropriate.
	The DESG meets quarterly or as appropriate for the business need. It is the forum through which Ministers plan and focus their support to UK defence exports; it does not have a budget. The Director Exports and Commercial Strategy is responsible for export co-ordination within the Ministry of Defence, an appointment made with effect from 1 January 2012.

Defence: Procurement

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's development expenditure in 2009-10 and 2010-11 was the subject of a bundled contract in which an agreed research and development allocation was included within an overall procurement contract.

Peter Luff: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Defence: Procurement

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which companies and organisations have been invited to contribute to his consultation on the models being considered under his Department's Materiel Strategy.

Peter Luff: As part of the work to examine options for increasing the role of the private sector in the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation, a soft market testing exercise is under way to obtain the market's views and explore potential roles for the private sector in DE&S.
	As a result of a Prior Information Notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union in March 2012, the following 15 organisations have been invited to present their ideas:
	BAE Systems
	Bechtel Corporation
	Boeing
	CH2M Hill (a combined response with PA Consulting and W S Atkins)
	Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
	DHL
	Fluor Corporation
	Hewlett Packard
	The International Centre for Complex Project Management
	Jacobs Engineering Group
	KBR
	Kuehne + Nagel
	Nichols Group
	QinetiQ
	Serco.

European Fighter Aircraft

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the Typhoon's potential as a carrier-borne aircraft;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the Typhoon's ability to take off from a carrier in considering the value for money of the F-35C.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 September 2011, Official Report, column 1206W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt).

Government: Ministerial Meetings

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what meetings (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department have had with Sarah Southern since 12 May 2010;
	(2)  what meetings (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department have had with Peter Cruddas since 12 May 2010.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 19 April 2012
	We have no record of any meetings between Ministers or Special Advisers and either Sarah Southern or Peter Cruddas.
	We are not aware of any officials meeting with either individual but a definitive answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Guided Weapons

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Paveway IV guided munitions will be procured to replace those used in Operation Ellamy.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence does not comment on the specific number of its weapon systems as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces. The contract to replenish Paveway IV stocks is progressing well, with first deliveries anticipated later this year.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees of his Department have undergone training on the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter since May 2010; and at what cost.

Peter Luff: Since May 2010, four Ministry of Defence personnel have been embedded in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Integrated Test Force at NAS Patuxent River, USA. These personnel undertake common training for both Carrier and Short Take Off Vertical Landing variants of the JSF aircraft in order to facilitate test and analysis of both variants as part of their core duties. This is part of the UK's investment in the System Design and Development phase of the JSF programme and, as such, the costs are not attributable specifically to Carrier variant training.

Marines

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines will be permanently based.

Nick Harvey: 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines is based at HM Naval Base Clyde.

Merlin Helicopters

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made on the Merlin MK3/3a Life Sustainment Programme.

Peter Luff: As part of the annual planning round process, the Ministry of Defence routinely considers a variety of options for how to deliver military capability in the light of the latest financial and strategic context. Any major changes to our current plans are announced to Parliament in the usual way.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse has been of aircraft launch and recovery equipment manufactured in the US.

Peter Luff: We have not spent any money on U.S. manufactured aircraft launch and recovery equipment (ALRE) as part of our current investigations into the conversion of the operational Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier.

Military Bases

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much it cost to install the Defence Information Infrastructure system at Waterbeach Barracks.

Peter Luff: holding answer 26 March 2012
	The cost to install Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) at Waterbeach Barracks was approximately £1.2 million. This figure includes the installation of IT hardware, cabling, servers, supporting infrastructure and remedial building works. The majority of this work was completed by July 2009.
	All DII equipment that is currently installed at Waterbeach will be removed by the time the station closes on 31 March 2013 and, whenever possible, will be reused elsewhere on the Defence estate.

Military Bases: Renewable Energy

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which military bases have installed (a) wind turbines, (b) solar panels, (c) photovoltaic panels and (d) anaerobic digestion facilities; and what proportion of their energy is generated from these technologies.

Andrew Robathan: Low carbon energy is generated on the Defence estate utilising a number of technologies, including biomass boilers, ground and air source heat pumps, solar photovoltaic panels, solar heating and small wind turbines.
	Details on the location and proportion of energy generated by these small scale installations, which only account for a small proportion of the Department's energy consumption, are not held centrally.
	The Ministry of Defence continues to exploit opportunities to generate low carbon energy on the Defence estate where this is compatible with defence activities, environmental constraints and value for money in terms of cost and carbon emission reductions.

Military Bases: Waterbeach

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effects the refusal of South Cambridgeshire district council to grant planning permission for a new settlement at Waterbeach Barracks has had on his plans to relocate 39 Engineer Regiment from Waterbeach to Kinloss.

Andrew Robathan: South Cambridgeshire district council has not refused planning permission for a new settlement at Waterbeach Barracks.
	Plans to relocate 39 Engineer Regiment to RAF Kinloss remain unchanged.

Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts his Department had with (a) Capita and (b) Serco in the last 12 months.

Peter Luff: The number of contracts the MOD had with Capita and Serco in the last 12 months is as follows:
	
		
			 Number 
			 Department/Trading fund Capita Serco 
			 MOD 2 34 
			 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 6 0 
			 Defence Support Group 0 0 
			 UK Hydrographic Office 2 0

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's consultations have been externally verified since 2007; for what reason and by whom such verification was carried out; and what the cost to the public purse was of such verification.

Andrew Robathan: Over the last five years, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has conducted on average four external consultations per year on a wide variety of Defence-related topics. These consultations may be viewed on the departmental website at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/ConsultationsandCommunications/PublicConsultations/
	In conducting these public consultations, the MOD has not required the use of any external verifiers. Formal verification of compliance with the various obligations set out under the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation is a matter that is handled internally, in accordance with the obligation under the code to monitor the effectiveness of consultation exercises.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department collects the IP addresses of online respondents to its consultations.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence publishes public consultations on its corporate website at:
	http://www.mod.uk//DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/ConsultationsandCommunications/
	and on the Defence Consultation website:
	http://defenceconsultations.org.uk
	The latter enables users to provide comments directly through that online platform.
	The single public consultation currently open on the MOD website makes use of SurveyMonkey to provide an online questionnaire.
	MOD does not capture the IP addresses of those responding through these sites.
	The Defence Analytical Services and Advice DASA also publishes consultations on it website:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk
	IP addresses are logged and therefore they are available where responses to consultations are provided by email, but they are not assembled or used to identify respondents. The details are not passed to any third party.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department accepts anonymous contributions to its consultations.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence publishes public consultations on its corporate website at
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/ConsultationsandCommunications/
	and on the Defence Consultation website
	http://defenceconsultations.org.uk
	The latter enables users to provide comments directly through that online platform.
	It is possible for anonymous contributions to be given through these online facilities and the single public consultation currently open does accept anonymous contributions. Furthermore, in some cases a postal address is provided which might receive such contributions.
	Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) also publishes consultations on its website
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk
	I can confirm that for these consultations, anonymous responses are accepted.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely savings to the public purse of his decision to deliver further efficiencies in IT provision during the spending review period; and how such efficiencies will be achieved.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence's principal IT system is the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII). It supports all military and civilian personnel across Defence, both in the UK and overseas, including in the operational environment. We already expect DII to deliver some £800 million of savings over the current spending review period.
	In addition, the previous Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), announced to the House on 18 July 2011, Official Report, columns 643-645, that bearing down on non-front line costs, including further substantial efficiencies in IT, is being considered as part of this year's annual budget setting process, known as the planning round. Estimated figures for further savings from this initiative will only be available after the planning round is complete and any proposals have been approved through the appropriate processes.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely savings to the public purse of his decision to deliver further efficiencies in estate spending during the spending review period; and how such efficiencies will be achieved.

Andrew Robathan: The rationalisation of the Defence Estate includes the sale of surplus land and buildings, and reductions in running costs.
	We expect that these savings will realise £350 million per year over the period of the spending review.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from his decision to withdraw the C-130J Hercules tactical transport aircraft during the spending review period.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence has estimated that the likely savings to the public purse arising from the decision to withdraw the C-130J Hercules tactical transport aircraft from service are some £55 million over the spending review period.

Public Expenditure

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from his decision to withdraw the VC-10 transport/tanker aircraft during the spending review period.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence has estimated that the likely savings to the public purse arising from the decision to withdraw the VC-10 transport/tanker aircraft from service are about £75 million over the spending review period.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: Although, since April 2010, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not operated a normal retirement age for the vast majority its civil service workforce, individuals who leave are still able to draw their accrued pension benefits where they have reached or passed the pension age. The following tables indicate how many civil servants and senior civil servants retired from the MOD during the time frame requested (excluding the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Trading Fund Personnel)(1).
	(1) The data for 2011-12 covers the period 2011 to February 2012 only. Data for the final period, March 2012, is not available due to National Statistics pre-release conditions.
	
		
			 Retirement 
			  FY 2010-11 FY 2011-12 
			 Civil servants 1,330 795 
			 Senior civil servants 10 (1)— 
			 (1 )Indicates a value of less than five. 
		
	
	The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, in common with other pension schemes, allows personnel to leave at an earlier (minimum pension) age, but with reduced pension payments. This is commonly known as actuarially reduced retired. The number of MOD staff who took this option, during the time periods specified, is shown in the following table along with those who left with an early pension on ill health retirement.
	
		
			 Early retirement 
			  FY 2010-11 FY 2011-12 
			 Retirement 201 130 
			 Ill health retirement 140 120 
			 Totals 341 250

Scotland: Sovereignty

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communications his Department has received from (a) NATO, (b) the US administration and (c) other foreign governments in relation to the Scottish Government's policy of seeking independence for Scotland, as it might affect existing treaty obligations and alliances.

Philip Hammond: We have received no such communications. The Government are not making plans for independence. The Ministry of Defence footprint in Scotland is expected to increase as a result of the strategic defence and security review and the decision to base a multi-role brigade around RAF Leuchars. The decision to base the new Astute class attack submarines at HMNB Clyde will further increase personnel numbers.

Sentry Aircraft

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the technical fault discovered in the Boeing Sentry E3D aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: A fault has been discovered in the radome supports of two RAF Boeing E-3D Sentry aircraft. The cause of the fault has yet to be determined; a full technical examination is under way. The aircraft in the current forward fleet have been checked and show no sign of a similar fault. Nevertheless, as a precautionary measure, non-essential routine flying has been temporarily suspended until the cause of this fault is understood. The UK Sentry forward fleet has been declared at readiness and would be available for NATO and operational commitments if required.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will hold discussions with the US Secretary of Defence on the operational effect of independence for Scotland on the Trident nuclear submarine fleet.

Philip Hammond: I have no plans to discuss this with the United States Secretary of Defence. Scotland will benefit from the basing of the new Astute class submarines alongside the Vanguard fleet at Faslane. The Government are not making plans for independence as we are confident that people in Scotland will continue to support the Union in any referendum.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of implications for national security of independence for Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: The Government are not making plans for independence. The Ministry of Defence footprint in Scotland is expected to increase as a result of the strategic defence and security review and the decision to base a multi-role brigade around RAF Leuchars. The decision to base the new Astute class attack submarines at HMNB Clyde will further increase personnel numbers.

Territorial Army: Pay

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 7 February 2012, Official Report, column 185W, on territorial army: recruitment, what steps he has taken to resolve the problems for reservists in receipt of benefits of territorial army remuneration.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 February 2012, Official Report, column 185W. We understand that there have been some issues surrounding jobseeker’s allowance and remuneration for the two-week Territorial Army annual camp and we continue to work closely to resolve such issues with the Department for Work and Pensions.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many GR4 Tornado aircraft have been equipped with the Helmet Mounted Cueing System; how many such aircraft will be equipped; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the installation of such systems.

Peter Luff: It is intended that 25 Tornado GR4 will be modified to embody the Helmet Mounted Cueing System; of these, 12 will be equipped with the system at any one time. Nine Tornado GR4 aircraft have been equipped with the system to date. The cost of installing these systems is approximately £11.5 million.

Vodafone Group

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many contracts Vodafone has been awarded by his Department in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what contracts his Department has with Vodafone.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence currently has two contracts with Vodafone, one of which was awarded in the last 12 months.
	One contract, for the period 17 October 2011 to 18 October 2011 was for the supply of Blackberry devices, licences and airtime. The other, for the period 5 November 2010 to 12 November 2013, is for the purchase of mobile phones and airtime via the Office of Government Commerce Mobile Solutions (II) Framework Agreement.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to respond to Question 92452 tabled by the hon. Member for North East Fife on 25 January for answer on 30 January 2012.

Philip Hammond: I answered the right hon. Member's question today.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Fisheries

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with the Government of (a) Uruguay and (b) Argentina on responsible fisheries since 2009.

Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
	The UK has made a number of proposals to Argentina for different types of co-operation and remains keen to foster a constructive relationship and to promote practical co-operation in the South Atlantic. These include specific proposals made in 2009 and 2010, to co-operate on the management of shared fish stocks, to which no formal response has been forthcoming. Argentine withdrawal from the South Atlantic Fisheries Commission has endangered the long-term sustainable management of these stocks, and is in contravention of article 63 of the UN convention on the law of the sea. We continue to believe that fisheries offer an important opportunity for bilateral and wider co-operation in the South Atlantic. We have had no bilateral discussions with Uruguay on this issue but continue to encourage broader regional engagement by all interested parties.

Meat

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from UK producers of desinewed meat on the European Commission's proposal for a moratorium on such products.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, has been in regular contact with businesses and industry representatives since the European Commission set out its position on desinewed meat. The FSA will continue its work on assessing the impact of the European Commission decision with industry bodies and affected businesses.

Meat

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect on (a) animal and (b) human health of the production process for desinewed meat.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Food Standards Agency, which has policy responsibility in this area, states that there is no evidence that eating meat produced by the low-pressure desinewed meat process is a health risk. The European Commission has stated that they do not consider this to be an identified public health concern. There are no implications for animal health.

Meat

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has made to the European Commission on allowing the production of desinewed meat to continue; and if she will make a statement.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, held urgent discussions with senior European Commission (EC) officials once the EC made its position known on desinewed meat, securing an extension to the original five-day deadline for action. The FSA continues to discuss this matter with the EC at all levels.

Meat

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential effect on UK meat producers of proposals by the European Commission on desinewed meat.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has policy responsibility in this area, is in regular contact with businesses and industry representatives to assess the impact of the European Commission (EC) decision regarding desinewed meat. The FSA continues to work with industry to build a clear picture of the overall impact of the EC decision and will present this information to the EC.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Airbus: China

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects on UK manufacturing of China's decision to suspend Airbus orders.

Mark Prisk: We are aware of concerns that possible action by Chinese airlines could have an impact on UK aerospace manufacturing activities. We are discussing this with the industry and are aware that similar discussions are taking place in other European nations.

Apprentices

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many employers in Warrington have received payments to take on their first young apprentice under the Government's incentive scheme since its inception.

John Hayes: The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) of 16 to 24-year-olds commenced in February 2012. Formal reporting will begin in the Statistical First Release published in June 2012.

Apprentices: Environment Protection

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote Green Deal apprenticeships.

John Hayes: Green Deal apprenticeships, announced by the Deputy Prime Minister in 2011, are funded and promoted by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). They are distinct from the mainstream apprenticeship programme, funded by Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Department for Education (DFE), and delivered through the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS). Therefore NAS, and BIS, are not directly involved in the initiative.
	On 8 March DECC announced £3.5 million in funding to help train people in key green skills ahead of the launch of the Green Deal, delivering on the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement to create 1,000 Green Deal apprenticeships.
	Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has been working closely with the Green Deal Skills Alliance to ensure support goes where it is most needed. DECC is putting forward £3 million and one of the leading partners in the Alliance, CITB-Construction Skills, will provide a further £500,000 towards the training.
	In addition to this, the National Apprenticeship Service, with funding from BIS and DFE, support other apprenticeships in the energy and environment sectors. For example, NAS has identified energy and environment as a priority growth sector and is investing £2.25 million into the development of higher apprenticeship frameworks in this sector via the higher apprenticeship fund (HAF).

Billing: EU Law

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons his policy on bringing forward the transposition of the EU late payments regulations in advance of the latest date set out for full implementation was changed to see implementation by the final deadline.

Norman Lamb: It is a long standing commitment of this Government not to gold-plate EU legislation by implementing early and we have confirmed many times our intention to transpose the EU Directive 2011/7/EU on combating late payment by 16 March 2013, thereby providing business and especially smaller businesses, with certainty.

Business: Ethics

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has any plans to publish a corporate responsibility strategy.

Norman Lamb: The Prime Minister recently re-affirmed the importance of corporate responsibility in building a stronger economy and society, and our priorities for responsible business action to support this are set out in the Every Business Commits framework. I am currently considering whether to make a further statement in response to the EU's invitation to member states in its recent Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility.
	Details of Every Business Commits and of the Prime Minister’s remarks are at
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/growth/every-business-commits
	and
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/business-in-the-community/

Business: Research

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the (a) number and (b) value was of Small Business Research Initiative competitions launched by each Department and agency (i) in total and (ii) for which no Phase Two contracts were awarded or planned in each quarter since April 2008.

Norman Lamb: The number and value was of Small Business Research Initiative competitions launched by each Department and agency in total is:
	
		
			 Organisation Number of competitions launched Contract (£000) 
			 MOD 41 21,936.51 
			 Department of Health 5 4,036.344 
			 NHS 11 5,351.438 
			 DFT 1 300 
			 Home Office 4 2,226.16 
			 BIS 2 988.766 
			 DECC 2 1,941.063 
			 DEFRA 4 1,682.358 
			 TSB 5 17,968.45 
			 Devolved Administrations 2 81.349 
			 Food Standards Agency 2 419.838 
			 Ordnance Survey 1 181 
			 NC3Rs 6 3,496.22 
		
	
	The number and value was of Small Business Research Initiative competitions launched by each Department and agency for which no Phase Two contracts were awarded or planned is:
	
		
			 Organisation Number of competitions launched where there was  no Phase Two  contracts awarded or planned Contract (£000) 
			 MOD 0 0 
			 Department of Health 0 0 
			 NHS 5 180 
			 DFT 1 300 
			 Home Office 2 1,080 
			 BIS 0 0 
			 DECC 1 110 
			 DEFRA 1 78 
			 TSB 0 0 
			 Devolved Administrations 1 81.349 
			 Food Standards Agency 2 419.838 
			 Ordnance Survey 1 181 
			 NC3Rs 6 3,496.22 
		
	
	A quarterly breakdown by each Department and agency has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Business: West Midlands

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) Birmingham, Ladywood constituency, (b) Birmingham City Council area and (c) the West Midlands.

Mark Prisk: We want to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and for the next decade to be the most entrepreneurial and dynamic in Britain's history. That is why, on 23 January 2012, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister launched “Business in You”, a major year-long campaign, to inspire people to realise their business ambitions and to highlight the range of support available for start-ups and growing businesses.
	Government are supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK in a number of ways:
	Ensuring SMEs can access the support and advice they need to start and grow
	We have transformed the way that we enable people to access the information, guidance and advice they need to start and grow a business. We have put in place a range of services including;
	An improved www.businesslink.gov.uk website including: a new Growth and Improvement Service and “My New Business”, a comprehensive start-up service.
	A Business Link Helpline which will support those who are unable to access the internet.
	A mentoring portal www.mentorsme.co.uk providing an easy route to find experienced business mentors.
	Started to introduce the new Business Coaching for Growth service, providing high quality coaching support for up to 10,000 SMEs a year with high growth potential.
	A streamlined Solutions for Business support portfolio was announced in March 2011, targeted at help for business, for example on helping businesses sell overseas and dealing with technology developments.
	Ensuring businesses can access the finance they need
	Ensuring the flow of credit to viable SMEs is essential for supporting growth and is a core priority for this Government. We want to ensure that the financial sector can supply affordable credit that businesses need, and we would like to see more diverse sources of finance for SMEs including, where appropriate, access to equity finance. Government has:
	Launched the national loan guarantee scheme: up to £20 billion of guarantees for bank funding will be available over two years allowing banks to offer lower cost lending to SMEs.
	Increased the funds available to invest through the Business Finance Partnership (BFP) to £1.2 billion. Government have invited the first round of proposals to help businesses access non-bank finance through the BFP, and will allocate £100 million of the BFP to invest through non-traditional lending channels.
	Announced the continuation of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme until 2014/15, providing, subject to demand, over £2 billion in total over the next four years.
	Continuation of the Government's Enterprise Capital Funds programme, increasing our commitment by £200 million over the next four years, providing for more than £300 million of venture capital investment to address the equity gap for early stage innovative SMEs.
	Announced that we will pilot the best way to introduce a programme of enterprise loans to help young people set up and grow their own businesses.
	Encouraging Business Angel investment through a new £50 million Business Angel Co-Investment Fund.
	Welcomed the report of the industry review of non-bank lending chaired by Tim Breedon and will take forward its recommendations over the course of this year, including: considering how to simplify access to Government support for smaller businesses; encouraging prompt payment by larger firms; and supporting industry work to remove barriers to alternative sources of finance.
	The Regional Growth Fund is a £2.4 billion fund operating across England from 2011 to 2015. It supports projects and programmes that lever private sector investment creating economic growth and sustainable employment.
	Ensuring that regulation supports business growth
	Introduced a 'one-in, one-out' rule whereby no new regulations which impose costs on businesses can be brought in without regulation of an equivalent value being removed.
	Introduced a three-year moratorium on new domestic regulation affecting micro businesses and genuine start-ups.
	The Red Tape Challenge is tackling the stock of regulation via a comprehensive thematic review which aims to identify regulations that could be removed, simplified or done in a different way. By the end of December 2011 we had scrapped or simplified over 600 regulations.
	Reforming the way in which regulations are implemented, including a review of regulators to ensure enforcement arrangements are appropriate and proportionate. Government will also launch sector-based reviews of regulation to ensure it is enforced at the lowest possible cost to business.
	To reduce barriers to businesses taking on new staff Government have announced significant deregulation of employment law, including increasing the unfair dismissal qualifying period from one to two years.
	Encouraging exporting SMEs
	Government will spend £35 million to double, from 25,000 to 50,000, the number of SMEs that UKTI supports a year by 2015. Many components of the UKTI product are aimed at SMEs:
	Passport to Export is a trade development programme offering new and inexperienced exporters help and support to build the capability to start exporting proactively and make their first visit to an export market. Launched in 2001, it has helped around 14,000 SMEs as of January 2012.
	Gateway to Global Growth offers experienced SME exporters the opportunity to increase their exporting skills and awareness of what is on offer from UKTI and private sector suppliers. The aim is to help them enter more difficult markets or expand in existing ones.
	Market Visit Support provides assistance to new to export and/or new to market SMEs visiting overseas markets, individually or in groups as part of their trade development process.
	Budget 2012 set out an ambition to more than double annual UK exports to £1 trillion by 2020 through additional measures including expanding the overseas role of UK Export Finance to enable it to develop finance packages that could help UK exporters secure opportunities identified through UK Trade and Investment's High Value Opportunities programme; helping secure temporary private sector office space overseas for new UK exporters in high growth countries where such services are difficult to obtain; and continuing to increase UK Export Finance's regional presence in the UK to support SMEs seeking trade finance.
	More specifically in the West Midlands, the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP), together with the other partnerships across the west midlands, is putting in place a range of local initiatives to complement these national measures. GBSLEP has established the Birmingham Business Hub at Baskerville House in Birmingham city centre which provides a one-stop shop for business support. Further details are available from the website:
	www.centreofenterprise.com

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many investigations into breaches by civil servants of the Civil Service Code of Conduct occurred in his Department in each month from May 2010 to March 2012.

Norman Lamb: During the period May 2010 to March 2012 there have been no allegations of breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct within BIS. Consequently there have been no investigations.

Consumer Direct: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff were employed by the Consumer Direct helpline in Scotland in 2011; and how many of these were transferred to the Citizens Advice service in April 2012.

Norman Lamb: In 2011 the Consumer Direct helpline in Scotland, based in Shawbost on the Isle of Lewis, employed 21 staff. All staff were offered the opportunity to transfer to the Citizens Advice service through TUPE and 20 staff transferred on 2 April 2012.
	In addition 18 new positions have been created at the new Citizens Advice consumer service located in refurbished premises in Stornoway. These are a combination of full- and part-time roles. Throughout the transition from the Consumer Direct service, formerly run by the Office of Fair Trading, to the Citizens Advice consumer service, Citizens Advice Scotland has worked closely with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to protect jobs and ensure sustainable employment in Lewis for years to come.
	This has been a very welcome and positive development for the Isle of Lewis and for nearly a quarter of a million consumers who will continue to benefit from expert advice each year.

Consumer Focus Scotland: Manpower

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff are employed by Consumer Focus Scotland; and how many of these will be transferred into the Regulated Industries Unit when it is established in April 2013.

Norman Lamb: Following a consultation last summer, the Government announced their intentions for the future of consumer advocacy last week (11 April). The Government response stated that Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland will become the publicly funded voice of consumers from April 2013, championing their needs and empowering them to make the right choices for themselves. The Citizens Advice Service and Consumer Focus (including Consumer Focus Scotland) are currently considering what impact this will have on Consumer Focus' staff.
	The Government have also decided to create a small Regulated Industries Unit (RIU) by April 2013, initially with responsibility for postal services and energy across England, Scotland and Wales with additional responsibility for water in Scotland. The RIU will not be a new public body but will consist of the parts of Consumer Focus that currently carry out these functions and will ensure that the existing skills, knowledge and expertise is retained. The intention is that the RIU will be transferred to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland in 2014, although this will be subject to the decisions made on Scottish devolution. Staff numbers have not yet been allocated, but the Government have confirmed that the RIU will include a physical presence in Scotland (and Wales). As we move into transition of both parts of this project, the Government will work closely with Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and Consumer Focus (including Consumer Focus Scotland and Wales) to ensure minimum disruption to all staff.

Credit Cards

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to increase competition in the market for payment cards.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	The Office of Fair Trading is pursuing a competition investigation into multilateral interchange fees charged on payment cards. It is supporting legal action being taken by the European Commission before deciding on the way forward.

Employment: Regulation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2012, Official Report, column 857W, on employment: regulation, what his priorities are in respect of employment regulation reform; how much funding he has allocated to this issue; and how many officials in his Department are engaged in this issue.

Norman Lamb: We have committed to review employment laws for employers and employees, both within BIS and elsewhere, to ensure that employment laws provide the flexibility and competitiveness that businesses need to grow without compromising fairness to employees.
	A priority of the Employment Law Review is to tackle those issues which impinge on business confidence to take on new staff. For example, we have undertaken a significant programme of reform to make the employment tribunal system more efficient and effective. We have already implemented measures to streamline the tribunal process and will be bringing forward proposals to encourage parties to resolve disputes before they reach tribunal at the earliest opportunity, when parliamentary time permits.
	There are 3.25 full-time equivalent members of staff leading work on the Employment Law Review in BIS. A number of policy teams are involved in specific elements of the review as part of their general policy maintenance and development responsibilities. There is no programme funding allocated to the review.

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2012, Official Report, column 858W, on higher education, whether due diligence checks will be retrospectively applied to courses that have been designated by his Department.

David Willetts: Due diligence checks are currently applied to all organisations applying for specific designation for the first time and we are currently considering whether to apply these checks retrospectively to organisations that already have courses designated.
	As we set out in the Higher Education White Paper, our intention is that all providers that access student support funding will, in future, be subject to the same standards for quality, dispute resolution, information, access (if charging above the basic tuition charge), financial sustainability, reformed student number controls and tuition charge caps.

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2012, Official Report, column 858W, on higher education, if he will publish the criteria included in the due diligence checks.

David Willetts: Due diligence checks are currently applied to all organisations applying for specific designation for the first time.
	The due diligence checks include consideration of management and governance, financial sustainability and longevity of an organisation. They involve a review of the publicly available information on the organisations and their directors and, in most cases, a review of further information we request from the organisations.

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2012, Official Report, column 858W, on higher education, who in his Department is responsible for carrying out due diligence checks on higher education providers.

David Willetts: Officials within the Department review specific designation applications on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable). In so doing, they liaise with a range of organisations so as to ensure that they have information that may be relevant to the applications being examined.

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2012, Official Report, column 858W, on higher education, for what reason he introduced due diligence checks for designated higher education courses.

David Willetts: Over the last 12 months we have seen a significant change in the range and type of organisations applying for specific designation. We introduced the due diligence checks to provide both the Department and potential students with additional assurance over the providers who as a result of designation could potentially be in indirect receipt of public funds.
	This is in line with our intention that all providers that access student support funding will, in future, be subject to the same standards for quality, dispute resolution, information, access (if charging above the basic tuition charge), financial sustainability, reformed student number controls and tuition charge caps.

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2012, Official Report, column 858W, on higher education, on what date due diligence checks were introduced.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills first started undertaking due diligence reviews following the publication of the Higher Education White Paper last summer. Initially the checks were undertaken only on providers that were applying for specific designation of courses that were not validated by bodies with UK degree awarding powers and where initial searches identified issues of concern relating to the providers.
	Since November 2011 the checks have been undertaken on all organisations applying for specific designation for the first time.

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer given by the Minister for Universities and Science of 8 March 2012, Official Report, column 858W, on higher education, on what basis the criteria for due diligence checks were decided by his Department.

David Willetts: The due diligence checks include consideration of management and governance, financial sustainability and longevity of an organisation. These were considered the key factors that the Department needs to consider in order to protect the use of public funds.

Higher Education: Admissions

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the total (a) cost and (b) number of staff hours spent administering bids for contestable student places in higher education.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) managed the administration of bids from higher education institutions for contestable places in higher education, for students starting courses in September 2012. HEFCE have not made an estimate of the cost and staff hours spent administering this process. It would be difficult to provide a reliable assessment given it was integrated into a number of people's role alongside other responsibilities.

Insolvency

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to prevent companies which have gone into administration from making payments to administrators and solicitors ahead of repaying creditors.

Norman Lamb: The Government believe that existing safeguards for creditors in an administration are adequate.
	There is a strict statutory hierarchy governing payments in an administration, which provides clarity and certainty to all affected parties. The basis of an administrator's remuneration is not set by the administrator—it is set by creditors (or the court in the absence of agreement from creditors). Administrators must report to creditors every six months and such reports must include details of the remuneration and expenses charged in the period. Creditors that consider such charges excessive have a right to challenge them at court.

Insolvency

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that small businesses and individuals who are creditors of companies which have gone into administration are prioritised in the repayment of debts.

Norman Lamb: The Government have no plans to extend the existing categories of preferential debt.
	Payments in an insolvency can only be drawn from the available assets of the insolvent. If one group of creditors is given priority over the finite available assets, it can only mean that other groups will lose out. Additionally, as preferential debts must be paid in full before funds are returned to floating chargeholders, increasing the number of preferential debts may have a detrimental effect on the cost of borrowing for all businesses.

Insurance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to discourage insurers from charging high car and home insurance premiums as a result of consumers making changes to their policies, choosing to pay by instalments or cancelling their policies; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	The Financial Services Authority (FSA), which regulates the insurance industry, has produced an Insurance Conduct of Business Sourcebook (ICOBS) in order to set the standards required of insurance firms in relation to their business. Insurers are expected to follow sales rules and treat customers fairly.
	Under ICOBS 4.3 and 2.2 all fees (including mid-term changes) must be disclosed to the customer before they incur the liability to pay the fee or the contract is concluded and communicated in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading. ICOBS 7.2 sets out specific rules on the amount that customers can be required to pay on cancellation.

Intellectual Property

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the economic costs to (a) industry and (b) the economy of (i) trade mark, (ii) copyright infringement and (iii) design infringement.

Norman Lamb: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has made no estimates of the economic costs of infringement. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO), publishes an annual Intellectual Property Crime Report
	http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipcreport10.pdf
	that brings together a range of industry estimates on the economic costs of infringement to their sectors.
	As part of its research programme the IPO is looking at how to develop clear and robust methodologies that can be used by industry sectors to standardise the collection of data. In addition under the Digital Economy Act, Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries has a duty to quantify the level of on-line copyright infringement. This work is under way.

Labelling: Food

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage retailers to (a) simplify unit pricing of and (b) provide clearly-labelled information on fruit and vegetables.

Norman Lamb: None. The Price Marking Order 2004 (PMO) requires traders to indicate in an unambiguous, easily identifiable and clearly legible manner, a selling price and, where appropriate, a unit price to goods so that consumers can compare prices.
	The standard units of quantity to be used for unit pricing purposes are one kilogram, litre, metre, square metre and the price of one unit for goods sold by number. Some exceptions are allowed and the PMO contains a list of products that must be unit priced using different units of quantity—usually 100g or 100ml.
	Enforcement of the PMO is by local authority trading standards services.

Legal Costs

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on fees for legal work in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spent £7.8 million in 2010/11 and £6.4 million in 2011/12 on fees for legal work.

Mobile Phones

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his answer of 15 September 2011, Official Report, column 532W, on mobile phones, what estimate he has made of the level of provision of a standardised mobile phone charger and compatible mobile phones since 1 January 2012.

Mark Prisk: No such estimate has been made by the Government and we have no plans to do such an assessment.

National Careers Service

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in which locations he expects the new National Careers Service to be based.

John Hayes: The National Careers Service can be accessed online, over the telephone and in around 3,250 local community locations. As well as dedicated National Careers Service premises, the service co-locates with a wide range of other organisations. In around 650 of these locations the other organisation is delivering the service as a sub-contractor. The following table gives a summary of the latest position. These locations vary over time. Local contractors regularly review the position and to ensure the service is accessible to all potential customers may seek additional or better locations. The Skills Funding Agency, which is responsible for delivering the National Careers Service, is currently trialling co-location with a broader group of organisations to maximise its reach into and accessibility from the community.
	
		
			 Location type Number 
			 Own premises 156 
			 JCP 557 
			 Training provider 456 
			 Library 335 
			 Community centre 331 
			 Probation offices 212 
			 Further education college 198 
			 Sure Start centre 150 
			 Employer 122 
			 Housing association 75 
			 Connexions 64 
			 UK online 42 
			 Place of worship 34 
			 Other(1) 518 
			 Total 3,250 
			 (1) Other includes: Unionlearn, charities, community/social interest, PCT/health care including addiction support, schools, chamber of commerce, local authorities

National Careers Service

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to his Department's further education and skills system reform plan for the National Careers Service, what the maximum duration is of face-to-face guidance sessions that will be available to young people aged between 18 and 24 years.

John Hayes: Young people aged between 18 and 24 who are on out of work benefits are a priority group for face to face guidance from the National Careers Service. Priority groups are entitled to up to three separate careers guidance sessions free of charge. The duration of a session is not predetermined and will depend on the needs of the individual. Further sessions are at the discretion of the provider. Under the Youth Contract the National Careers Service will make available to this group a face to face guidance session within the first three months of claiming job seekers allowance.
	Any other young person aged between 19 and 24 is entitled to one free face to face guidance session. All young people can access one to one information and advice through the telephone and webchat helplines provided by the National Careers Service.

National Careers Service

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what financial resources will be available to further education colleges for the provision of information, advice and guidance as part of the National Careers Service.

John Hayes: The National Careers Service is administered by the Skills Funding Agency who contract with 11 prime contractors for the delivery of face to face guidance and support. Prime contractors make their own arrangement for meeting their contractual responsibilities. In some locations delivery is through their own resources; in others they sub-contract delivery to other local organisations including FE colleges.
	Further education colleges receive funds to deliver the National Careers Service only where they are a sub-contractor. Financial terms vary and will depend on the individual contractual arrangements agreed with the local prime contractor, which are a matter for them. We do not hold details of these financial arrangements. There are currently 59 FE colleges acting as sub-contractors. The National Careers Service has a presence in a further 139 FE colleges through other contractors. I announced in my speech to the Institute of Careers Guidance Annual Conference in November 2011 that I expect the total number of FE colleges where the service is present to be 250 by December 2012 and we are on track to achieve that aspiration. FE colleges also have a statutory duty under the Education Act 1997 to provide persons attending the college with access to both guidance materials and reference materials relating to careers education and career opportunities.

OECD: Multinational Companies

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions representatives of his Department have had with representatives of other Government Departments on the OECD guidelines on multi-national enterprises.

Mark Prisk: The UK National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises is based in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The NCP holds discussions as appropriate with all Government Departments with an interest in both particular cases, and the wider policy issues covered in the guidelines. Those Departments which have the most significant policy interest in the work of the NCP—Department for International Development, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for Work and Pensions, UK Trade & Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Department—are represented on the independent Steering Board, which oversees the work of the NCP and meets quarterly.

OECD: Multinational Companies

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps he has taken to promote the OECD guidelines on multi-national enterprises.

Mark Prisk: The UK National Contact Point (NCP) for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises is based in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). As part of its published working arrangements—and as part of its obligations set out in the guidelines—it has a responsibility to promote the guidelines to interested stakeholders, both domestically and overseas. In line with this, BIS officials in the NCP regularly participate in meetings and speak at conferences with a wide range of stakeholders, including the business and legal communities, non-governmental organisations, and academia to promote the guidelines. Recent examples include an event organised by the Institute of Human Rights and Business on 23 March 2012 for representatives from the extractive sector, and an event organised by the Centre for the Study of Governance and Transparency at Kellogg College, University of Oxford on 19 January 2012 which was attended mainly by NGOs and academics.
	Officials also have regular contact with officials in other countries to raise awareness of the guidelines and share best practice on their implementation. Most recently, the NCP hosted a visit from officials from the Governments of Colombia and Norway on 28 February 2012, and is participating in an OECD peer review of the Japanese NCP taking place during April 2012.

Postage Stamps

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will discuss with Royal Mail the inclusion of British Paralympics gold medallists on first class stamps issued by Royal Mail following the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Norman Lamb: Operational matters, which include matters relating to Royal Mail's special stamp programmes, are the direct responsibility of the company's management.
	I have therefore asked the chief executive of Royal Mail, Moya Greene, to respond direct to the hon. Member. A copy of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Public Sector: Manpower

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of employees in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales were employed in the public sector workforce in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the proportion of employees in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales who were employed in the public sector workforce in each of the last five years (104954).
	Estimates of public sector employment for the UK and the proportion of employees who were employed in the public sector are published on a quarterly basis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). These estimates are only available on a consistent basis back to 2008.
	The requested data for the period 2008-2011, for which consistent data are available, are attached at Annex A.
	Annex A
	
		
			 Regional public sector employment as a proportion of the total number of employees (1,2,3,4) 
			 Headcount, per cent, not seasonally adjusted 
			  All employees 
			  England Wales Scotland (5) Northern Ireland (6) 
			 2008 19.6 25.4 23.5 29.3 
			 2009 21.0 27.1 25.4 31.3 
			 2010 20.3 26.7 25.4 29.9 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 20.0 25.9 24.0 28.5 
			 (1 )Annual figures relate to June quarter (Q2). (2) Estimates are based on where people are employed. (3) Northern Rock classified to the public sector from 9 October 2007, Bradford and Bingley classified to public sector from 26 September 2008. Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Lloyds Banking Group classified to public sector from 13 October 2008. (4) Figures use Labour Force Survey—All in employment aged 16 and over as a denominator. Data refer to May-July. (5 )Estimates of public sector employment for Scotland are supplied by Scottish Government. (6) Estimates of public sector employment for Northern Ireland will differ to those published by DFPNI. The ONS figures include HM Forces personnel. These ONS figures also use Labour Force Survey employment as a denominator as opposed to the Quarterly Employment Survey employee estimate used by DFPNI. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The following tables show the number of civil servants and senior civil servants who have retired from Department for Business, Innovation and Skills since May 2010.
	
		
			 All civil servants leaving on retirement—1 May 2010 to 31 March 2012 
			  Number 
			 Actuarially Reduced Retirement 2 
			 Retirements at or above normal retirement age, or on grounds of ill health 70 
			 Early Retirement through exit Schemes 348 
		
	
	
		
			 Senior civil servants leaving on retirement—1 May 2010 to 31 March 2012 
			 Number 
			 Actuarially Reduced Retirement 0 
			 Retirements at or above normal retirement age, or on grounds of ill health 6 
			 Early Retirement through exit Schemes 23 
		
	
	In order to reduce its costs over the spending review period the Department ran a voluntary exit scheme in 2010 and a voluntary redundancy scheme in 2011. Under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) staff who left under these schemes and who were above minimum pension age (generally age 50) had the option of taking early retirement on the terms specified in the CSCS in lieu of receiving compensation for severance.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The following tables show the number of staff in BIS who retired in 2010-11 and 2011-12, detailing the different categories of retirement.
	
		
			 Civil servants leaving on retirement—1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 
			  Number 
			 Actuarially reduced retirement 2 
			 Retirements at or above normal retirement age, or on grounds of ill health 50 
			 Early retirement through exit schemes 205 
			 Total 257 
		
	
	
		
			 Civil servants leaving on retirement—1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 
			  Number 
			 Actuarially reduced retirement 0 
			 Retirements at or above normal retirement age, or on grounds of ill health 26 
			 Early retirement through exit schemes 143 
			 Total 169 
		
	
	In order to reduce costs over the spending review period the Department ran a voluntary exit scheme in 2010 and a voluntary redundancy scheme in 2011. Under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme(CSCS) staff who left under these schemes and who were above minimum pension age (generally age 50) had the option of taking early retirement on the terms specified in the CSCS in lieu of receiving compensation for severance.

Student Finance England

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Student Finance England on the release of student e-mail addresses.

David Willetts: holding answer 16 April 2012
	I have regular discussions with Student Finance England (SFE) on a range of matters including data protection and fraud and error. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and SFE take the integrity and security of student information very seriously.
	BIS officials have been in contact with SFE concerning the most recent incident in March 2012 when some customer e-mail addresses were made available in error to other customers. SFE has contacted all affected customers to let them know this has occurred. I am informed that no other personal student data was shared and SFE has reported the error to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Students: Loans

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2012, Official Report, column 230W, on higher education, whether (a) his Department and (b) the Higher Education Statistics Agency hold data on non-completion rates for (i) students at private higher education providers with their own degree awarding powers who have access to student loans and (ii) students at private higher education institutions whose courses are designated higher education courses and have access to student loans.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the agencies reporting to the Department, do not hold the data requested on non-completion rates in private higher education institutions of students who are eligible to receive student loan funding. The Higher Education White Paper of June 2011 and the subsequent Technical Consultation stated that in future we intend to ensure that all higher education providers whose students access student support funding are required to provide sufficient and proportionate information to students and the public.

Students: Loans

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how his Department tracks non-completion rates at private higher education institutions whose students are eligible to receive student loans.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold the data requested on non-completion rates in private higher education institutions of students who are eligible to receive student loan funding. The Higher Education White Paper of June 2011 and the subsequent Technical Consultation stated that in future we intend to ensure that all higher education providers whose students access student support funding are required to provide sufficient and proportionate information to students and the public.

Students: Loans

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to monitor the performance of the Student Loans Company.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills reviews the performance of the Student Loans Company (SLC) on a continuous basis. Regular meetings are held at official level, including as part of the shared governance arrangements in place for overseeing student finance delivery. Formal performance reviews are held quarterly, most recently on 7 February 2012, and twice yearly are chaired by me.

Sunday Trading

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what impact assessment he has made of the effects of a change in Sunday trading hours on small businesses in (a) London and (b) the West Midlands.

Mark Prisk: To make an accurate assessment of the potential impact would be difficult due to the unique nature of the Olympics and Paralympics. A separate study of the impact on different parts of the country has not been carried out.
	In 2006, as part of a wider review of Sunday trading restrictions, the Government commissioned Indepen Consulting Ltd to carry out an analysis of the economic costs and benefits of easing restrictions on large shops trading on Sundays. The conclusion of the cost benefit analysis was that the net economic benefit of full liberalisation could be worth around £1.4 billion per annum.
	Should the Government ever decide to look at a more permanent relaxation of these regulations then a full impact assessment, including the impact on small shops, would be carried out.

Sunday Trading: Olympic Games 2012

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential effects of changes to Sunday trading laws during the London 2012 Olympics on small shops in (a) Warrington and (b) the North West;
	(2)  whether he plans to take steps to safeguard staff pay and conditions if Sunday trading laws are relaxed during the London 2012 Olympics.

Norman Lamb: To make an accurate assessment of the potential impact would be difficult due to the unique nature of the Olympics and Paralympics. A separate study of the impact on different parts of the country has not been carried out.
	In 2006, as part of a wider review of Sunday trading restrictions, the Government commissioned Indepen Consulting Ltd to carry out an analysis of the economic costs and benefits of easing restrictions on large shops trading on Sundays. The conclusion of the cost benefit analysis was that the net economic benefit of full liberalisation could be worth around £1.4 billion per annum. However there are no plans to pursue full liberalisation.
	The Government are considering an amendment to part 4 of the Employment Right Act 1996 (by using the existing opt out right under part 4) to reduce the notice period for workers to opt out of Sunday working from three to two months; during the suspension period. Workers will keep all their protections that are currently in place, including the right to opt out of Sunday working.
	It is not the role of Government to intervene in terms and conditions of workers. This will be a matter for individual employers and employees to discuss and agree terms locally.

Sunday Trading: Olympic Games 2012

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received from (a) individuals and (b) organisations on the proposed relaxation of Sunday trading laws during the London 2012 Olympics;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the relaxation of Sunday trading laws during the London 2012 Olympics on (a) small to medium-sized and (b) large retailers in (i) London, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) Dudley;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of businesses in (a) London, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Dudley that will open longer as a result of the proposed relaxation of Sunday trading laws during the London 2012 Olympics.

Mark Prisk: The Government have received a number of recent representations regarding the proposal to suspend Paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 1 to the Sunday Trading Act 1994, which restricts Sunday opening for some large shops, between 22 July and 9 September.
	The Government recognise that the speed of this Bill has led to some confusion about what the Bill actually does. To address this and to highlight the temporary nature of this Bill we have held a number of discussions with representatives of small shops, including the Association of Convenience Stores and the National Federation of Retail Newsagents, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) the trade unions for shop workers, large retailers and their representatives, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the big four supermarkets and the Church of England. We have also received representations from members of the public regarding the Bill.
	The unique nature of the Olympics and Paralympics makes an accurate assessment of the potential impact difficult and no separate study of the impact of the Bill on different parts of the country has been carried out.
	In 2006, as part of a wider review of Sunday trading restrictions, the Government commissioned Indepen Consulting Ltd to carry out an analysis of the economic costs and benefits of easing restrictions on large shops trading on Sundays. The conclusion of the cost benefit analysis was that the net economic benefit of full liberalisation is worth £20.3 billion over 20 years or £1.4 billion per annum.

Taxis

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on taxis for (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants between August 2011 and January 2012.

Norman Lamb: The core Department has significantly reduced expenditure on taxis over the last two financial years and total staff expenditure on taxis has fallen from £38,058 between August 2009 and January 2010 to £26,249 between August 2011 and January 2012. In the same period ministerial expenditure on taxis has fallen from £11,477 to £2,939—a reduction of nearly 75%.
	BIS has taken strong action to tighten controls on business travel policy, reduce expenditure on travel and encourages the use of the most cost-effective modes of transport. Staff are only allowed to use taxis in exceptional circumstances, for example: when public transport is not available, or when the line manager agrees that taking a taxi will help keep a staff member safe when overseas or during unsocial hours or where sharing the use of a taxi with other colleagues is more cost-effective.

Trading Standards: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanisms he has established to (a) exchange information on infringements of trading standards regulations and (b) co-ordinate cross-border enforcement action between the National Trading Standards Board and trading standards offices in Scotland.

Norman Lamb: Following the Government's decision to establish a National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) for England and Wales, we welcome the proposal from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) to co-ordinate enforcement in Scotland. There will be Scottish attendance at NTSB meetings to ensure effective cross-border co-operation and exchange of intelligence and information. COSLA have set up a task group to look at how best to deliver the landscape changes in Scotland in both the short and long term.
	On 11 April, the Government published their response to the consultation on Empowering and Protecting Consumers, which set out the NTSB's responsibility for prioritising national and cross-local authority boundary enforcement in England and Wales, including:
	an integrated national intelligence system;
	the co-ordination of Trading Standards enforcement activity across local authority boundaries and nationally including management of enforcement databases; and
	the analysis of intelligence and setting of priorities for cross-boundary enforcement.
	Funding has been made available for similar activity in Scotland.

UK Trade and Industry Defence and Security Organisation: Human Rights

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what human rights due diligence processes the (a) Export Control Organisation and (b) UK Trade and Industry Defence and Security Organisation (i) has in place and (ii) plans to implement.

Mark Prisk: All export licence applications for military equipment are assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Export Control Organisation (ECO) within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, which require the Government to assess the recipient country's attitude towards relevant principles established by international human rights instruments. The Government will not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression.
	The UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) maintains close dialogue with the rest of Government to ensure it is aware of nations of concern, including those where human rights considerations may apply. DSO also keep Government informed about changes in export control regulation and reminds companies about the requirement for export licences under the Export Control Act 2002. UKTI DSO is entirely separate from the ECO, and DSO is not involved in assessing export licence applications.

Vodafone Group

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many contracts Vodafone has been awarded by his Department in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what contracts his Department has with Vodafone.

Norman Lamb: The Core Department has let only one contract with Vodafone. This was let in June 2011 via the GPS Agreement called Mobile Solutions II Catalogue Central Government Proposition and will run for four years.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the human rights and working conditions of workers in Burma; and what steps he is taking to persuade the Burmese Government to allow workers to form trades unions.

Alan Duncan: In recent months there has been progress made with regards to labour rights in Burma, such as the Labour Organisations Bill that came into force on 9 March which allows the free formation of workers organisations. However, the human rights and working conditions of workers in Burma, particularly the use of forced labour, remains a serious concern.
	Department for International Development and Foreign Office officials are in close contact with international and civil society organisations, including the International Labour Organisation and Trades Union Congress, and local bodies on these important issues.

Burma

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to persuade the Burmese Government to release political prisoners.

Alan Duncan: During their recent visits to Burma the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), have all pressed President Thein Sein, and other senior Ministers, for the release of all political prisoners. UK officials also regularly raise the issue of political prisoners with the Burmese authorities.

Developing Countries: Biofuels

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the Government's policies on biofuels and the effects on developing countries.

Andrew Mitchell: There are frequent discussions on these matters between our two Departments.

Legal Costs

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on fees for legal work in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development spending on legal work was £754,563 in 2010-11 and £985,375 in 2011-12.

Nike Girl Hub

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the findings of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact report on the Nike Girl Hub joint initiative with his Department.

Andrew Mitchell: I welcome the Independent Commission for Aid Impact report on the Girl Hub. The report acknowledged the significant and effective contribution to the Girl Hub. We have looked carefully at its findings and recommendations and we are working closely with the Girl Hub to improve management processes.
	Department for International Development's response to the report was published on 16 April 2012, viewable at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/What-we-do/How-UK-aid-is-spent/Evaluation

Nike Girl Hub

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the child protection policy introduced at the Nike Girl Hub compared to UK standards of child protection provision.

Andrew Mitchell: The Girl Hub has a child protection policy, informed by global best practice that is intended to safeguard children and protect its staff from false allegation of improper conduct.

Nike Girl Hub

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken to ensure that the Nike Girl Hub puts in place adequate anti-corruption and anti-bribery policies.

Andrew Mitchell: The Girl Hub has in place appropriate policies on anti-bribery, whistle-blowing and conflict of interest, in addition to the UK and US legislation that covers DFID and Nike Foundation employees respectively, e.g. the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corruption Act.

Nike Girl Hub

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what systems are in place to ensure good budgeting and financial monitoring of the Nike Girl Hub project.

Andrew Mitchell: Robust and comprehensive risk and financial management policies for the Girl Hub are being tightened as set out in the Department for International Development response to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact report, published on 16 April, viewable at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/What-we-do/How-UK-aid-is-spent/Evaluation

Palestinians

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost to the public purse was of UK aid spent on Palestinian school teachers; and what proportion of UK aid this figure represents.

Alan Duncan: In 2010, UK funding represented 1.55% of the Palestinian Authority's recurrent budget. The UK's imputed share of spend on Palestinian schoolteachers for this year (the latest year in which figures are available) was £2.84 million. This represented 0.03% of the UK's overseas aid budget for the same year.

Palestinians

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of (a) the mission statement and (b) the composition of the Assessment and Evaluation Centre for Palestinian school textbooks; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of (a) the mission statement and (b) the composition of the Palestinian teachers workshops evaluating draft textbooks; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how the syllabus of each school grade and subject is evaluated under the process set out by the Palestinian Curriculum Plan 1998 and implemented by the Palestinian Curriculum Development Centre;
	(4)  what recent assessment he has made of (a) the mission statement and (b) the composition of the Palestinian Curriculum Development Centre; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The UK has not made an independent assessment of the mission statement or composition of the Palestinian Curriculum Development Centre, the Assessment and Evaluation Centre for Palestinian school textbooks or of the Palestinian teachers' workshops which evaluate draft textbooks. Further details of the process for evaluating Palestinian school textbooks under the Palestinian Curriculum Plan 1998 can be obtained by contacting the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
	As DFID has made clear, the UK Government's position is that both Palestinian and Israeli textbooks could do better and include more positive and balanced messages on issues relating to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Having considered the balance of the evidence available, we do not believe that current Palestinian textbooks incite violence or hatred. The US State Department has commissioned a full independent investigation into the content of Palestinian and Israeli school textbooks. This is due to report in 2012 and we will be reviewing their findings and recommendations in detail with our EU counterparts.

Private Sector

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to ensure that his Department's private sector team engages with (a) cooperatives and (b) young people.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) works with co-operatives as part of our private sector activities. For example, DFID's Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund (FRICH) works with several co-operatives in African countries to bring more African products onto supermarket shelves in the UK.
	DFID understands the importance of the private sector in providing young people with jobs and economic opportunities, and supports a number of innovative interventions to provide education and skills for employment. In Pakistan, the DFID-funded Punjab Skills Development Fund provides vocational training to improve job prospects, encourage entrepreneurship, and up-skill workers in low skill, low wage jobs. DFID is also supporting Nigeria's Youth Enterprise and Innovation Programme where young entrepreneurs are given business management training and compete for start-up/expansion grants.

Public Consultation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department collects the IP addresses of respondents to its consultations.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development does not collect the IP addresses of respondents to consultations.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants have retired from his Department since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) removed the mandatory retirement age for all home civil servants and senior civil servants on 1 April 2010.
	From May 2010 until 31 March 2012, 143 civil servants have resigned from the DFID. Of these, 27 civil servants and three senior civil servants were at or above pension age.

Retirement

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff of his Department retired in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many of such staff were taking early retirement in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development removed the mandatory retirement age for all staff on 1 April 2010.
	In 2010-11, 85 staff resigned, of whom 20 were at or above pension age. In 2011-12, 66 staff resigned, of whom 11 were at or above pension age.

Southern Sudan

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on steps to restart oil production in South Sudan.

Andrew Mitchell: I am in continued discussions on this matter with Foreign Office Ministers.

St Helena: Airports

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  whether (a) he, (b) his officials and (c) his special advisers have had any discussions with Lord Ashcroft on the construction of an airport on St Helena;
	(2)  whether the changes to his Department's budget following the October 2011 spending review will affect plans to construct an airport on St Helena.

Andrew Mitchell: No.

Vacancies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many job vacancies there were for (a) staff posts and (b) senior Civil Service posts in his Department on 31 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development had job vacancies for the dates requested as detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 As at 31 March each year Senior civil service Below senior civil service 
			 2010 2 31 
			 2011 2 87 
			 2012 2 51

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arab Partnership Fund

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what projects and programmes are being funded under the Arab partnership fund in (a) Mauritania, (b) the Palestinian Territories, (c) Lebanon, (d) Iraq, (e) Kuwait, (f) Qatar, (g) Saudi Arabia, (h) Oman, (i) Bahrain, (j) United Arab Emirates, (k) Yemen and (l) Iran.

Alistair Burt: The UK has committed £110 million over four years to the Department for International Development (DFID)-Foreign and Commonwealth Office Arab Partnership Fund to support political and economic reform across the middle east and north Africa region. This includes a £70 million Arab Partnership Economic Facility and a £40 million Arab Partnership Participation Fund. Based on our assessment of need; potential for UK added value, and UK Government capacity to deliver, the Arab Partnership Fund focuses in particular on support for Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Jordan, Algeria, and Syria. However, the fund also operates across the region, including in many of the countries specified where we are funding a range of projects to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, political participation, public voice and good governance. In addition, some of the Arab Partnership's regional projects, including a £1 million contribution to a regional anti-corruption project led by Transparency International, cover the specified countries.
	(a) Mauritania: To date, the Arab Partnership has not provided funding in Mauritania. However, some projects are being considered, including to support upcoming elections.
	(b) The Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs): Complementing DFID's programme and Conflict Pool funding in the OPTs, the Arab Partnership funded a project run by the UK Ministry of Justice to help make provision for community-based penalties in the new Palestinian penal code. Further work is being considered for this financial year.
	(c) Lebanon: The Arab Partnership is funding the ADYAN Foundation to work towards reforming Lebanese education policies in order to promote co-existence and inclusive citizenship.
	(d) Iraq: The Arab Partnership has funded two projects to strengthen a free and balanced media, and parliamentary capacity.
	Government funding for (k) Yemen is primarily provided through the Conflict Pool and DFID—not the Arab Partnership—although this is being considered as Yemen's transition progresses. Given the political situation in (l) Iran and the closure of the British embassy it has not been possible to undertake Arab Partnership programme work.
	The majority of Arab Partnership funding is subject to Official Development Assistance eligibility criteria and thus cannot be spent in the Gulf. Last year, the Arab Partnership had a £50,000 allocation to support partners in the Gulf, which this year has expanded to £250,000.
	Arab Partnership funding is primarily demand-driven. This year, no requests for funding were received from partners in (f) Qatar, (g) Saudi Arabia, and (j) United Arab Emirates. The Arab Partnership is supporting activity in other parts of the Gulf.
	(e) Kuwait: Arab Partnership funding for a Parliamentary Ethics conference with the Kuwait Transparency Society.
	(h) Oman: The Arab Partnership funded a scoping visit undertaken by the Chair of the Bar Council's Human Rights Committee and a Gulf expert from Chatham House to pave the ground for increased activity this year.
	(i) Bahrain: The Arab Partnership has funded human tights training of Bahraini Senior Officials. Further work is underway for projects supporting reform in the Bahraini system.

Arab Partnership Fund

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent by his Department's Arab Partnership Programme in 2011; how much is planned to be spent in 2012; and in which countries in each case.

Alistair Burt: The final spend figure for the Department's Arab Partnership Participation Fund in 2011 is expected to be between £5.2 million and £5.3 million. These figures will be finalised once accounts for 2011-12 are complete. Project funds were spent in the following countries: Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Oman, Libya, and Bahrain.
	For 2012, a total value of £6.74 million has been approved to date. These are in the following countries: Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, and Yemen. Further projects will be identified in some of these countries, as well as other middle east and north Africa countries through the course of the year, reaching an expected total value of at least £10 million.

Arab Partnership Fund

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many projects are funded by his Department's Arab Partnership Programme; and in which countries.

Alistair Burt: In 2011-12, the Department's Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF) funded 46 projects. Projects took place in the following countries: Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Oman, Libya, and Bahrain. A list of these projects can be found on the FCO's website:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/global-issues/mena/uk-arab-partnership-project-list
	For 2012-13, 41 projects with a total value of £6.74 million have been approved to date. These are in the following countries: Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan and Yemen. Further projects will be identified in some of these countries, as well as other middle east and north Africa countries through the course of the year, raising our expected spend to at least £10 million.

Argentina

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure the safety of British embassy staff in Buenos Aires.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office takes the security of its staff very seriously. Security at our embassy in Buenos Aires was reviewed in March this year and as a result a number of additional security measures were put in place.
	In addition, we have made clear to the Argentine Government that we expect it to fulfil its obligations under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations to provide appropriate protection for foreign diplomatic missions. Most recently, we raised this and other security measures with the Argentine Government on 2 February.

British Nationals Abroad: Death

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance his Department issues to diplomatic staff on the processes to be followed after the death of a UK citizen abroad.

Jeremy Browne: Following the death of a British national abroad, the role of consular staff is to provide information and practical support to the next of kin. The support we provide is set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) publications “Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide”, which can be found at:
	www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/2855621/support-for-british-nationals-abroad.pdf
	and “Guide for Bereaved Families”, which can be found at:
	www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/2855621/bereaved-families-pdf
	Internal guidance is provided for consular staff on the processes to be followed after the death of a British national, aimed at ensuring that consular staff meet the standards of support set out in these publications. This guidance is regularly reviewed and a further review will be conducted as announced by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), in his written ministerial statement of 17 April 2012, Official Report , columns 17-18WS.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure a sustainable approach to fishing in the Overseas Territories.

Henry Bellingham: We are committed to working together with Overseas Territory governments to preserve the Territories' rich environmental heritage and, where fishing activities take place, encourage these to happen in a sustainable manner. Several Territories already operate fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. We welcome this and intend to work with the Territories on this shared agenda to continue to strengthen existing fisheries policies, where appropriate, and support the development of any new fishery in an informed and sustainable way.

China

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date and at what time the UK embassy in China was informed of the death of Neil Heywood.

Jeremy Browne: On 16 November 2011 at approximately 12 noon consular officials from our Consulate-General Chongqing were notified by fax by the Public Security Bureau of the Chongqing municipality of China of Mr Heywood's death.

China

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with the US Government on the death of Neil Heywood in China and the meeting between Chinese authorities and the US embassy in China to discuss Mr Heywood's death.

Jeremy Browne: British embassy staff in Beijing discussed the case with US officials in Beijing following Wang Lijun's visit to the US Consulate in Chengdu. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have also had regular discussions with US officials in Washington and London.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has discussed the case with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

China

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the name is of the UK official who attended the mortuary in Chongqing following the death of Neil Heywood in November 2011.

Jeremy Browne: In line with usual procedure, and at the family's request, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials accompanied the family when they visited the mortuary in Chongqing. For security and operational reasons we do not give personal details of FCO officials.

China

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consular support his Department has provided to the family of Neil Heywood since his death in Chongqing, China in November 2011.

Jeremy Browne: Since the death of Mr Neil Heywood, consular officials have offered full consular support to his family in China and in the UK.
	The family were also notified when we took the decision to formally request an investigation into the death by the Chinese authorities. Officials have subsequently maintained regular contact with the family, informing them of our actions in relation to the case. This will continue.

China

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Chinese Government on investigating the events leading up to and following the death of Neil Heywood in Chongqing in November 2011.

Jeremy Browne: The British Government's policy is to seek a full investigation of the circumstances surrounding Mr Heywood's death.
	As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) set out in his written ministerial statement of 17 April 2012, Official Report, columns 17-18WS, we welcome the fact that the Chinese authorities have now committed themselves to undertake the investigation into Mr Heywood's death that we sought. We will continue to engage with the Chinese authorities on the progress of this investigation and we stand ready to provide any assistance necessary.
	Further to this announcement, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary raised Mr Heywood's case with Mr Li Changchun, Politburo Standing Committee member, on 17 April 2012 during his visit to the UK.
	The Deputy Prime Minister also raised Mr Heywood's case with Madame Liu Yandong, First State Councillor of the People's Republic of China, on 16 April 2012.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on pressing for a moratorium on drilling for oil in the Virunga National Park and UNESCO World Heritage site in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Henry Bellingham: The issuance of licences for oil exploration and exploitation within its territory is a matter for the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. However we have expressed to them our concerns about exploration in Virunga National Park and we call on all parties involved to ensure that transparent plans are in place to protect the environment.

Diplomatic Service

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what professional advice is available to diplomats dealing with human resources issues affecting locally engaged staff.

Henry Bellingham: The Heads of British diplomatic missions overseas are responsible for the overall management of the staff employed locally and Foreign Office staff posted from London. They and staff working for them have access to a range of advice on human resources issues affecting locally engaged staff. Some embassies and high commissions have dedicated human resources managers, others are supported by regional centres. Central management guidance is available on performance, appraisal, disciplinary procedures, via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) intranet. Small teams of human resources managers based in London also provide ad hoc support and advice on management principles. In addition, all overseas embassies and high commissions have a local legal adviser to advise on compliance with local employment law.
	The FCO has a large in-house human resources directorate within which there is a local staff policy section to which posts can turn in order to seek advice. Many of the staff within the human resources directorate have years of experience serving overseas and dealing with issues affecting locally-engaged staff. Equally a large number of FCO staff undertake studies for professional qualifications in human resources, becoming members of the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development. In addition there is a wealth of written guidance on HR issues of particular relevance to locally-engaged staff to which posts can refer

EU Staff

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had on improving communications between his Department and British nationals working as civil servants for the EU.

David Lidington: Last month the UK's Permanent Representative to the EU, Sir Jon Cunliffe, held a series of meetings with senior British nationals working in the EU Institutions to discuss, inter alia, our engagement and communication with them. Officials at the UK Permanent Representation in Brussels have regular contacts with British nationals in the EU institutions.

Falkland Islands

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what total estimated income is derived from the Falklands fishing industry.

Jeremy Browne: Responsibility for the Falklands' fishing industry, including the sale of licences, lies with the Falkland Islands Government. Any revenues generated are received by the Falkland Islands Government, not by the British Exchequer. They have advised that licence revenue for 2010-11 was £19.5 million, for 2009-10 was £11.6 million and for 2008-09 was £10.7 million. The value offish catches during the same period is not known.

Falkland Islands

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with British (a) companies and (b) banks on oil exploration near the Falkland Islands.

Jeremy Browne: I met last month with the one of the companies currently engaged in Falklands' hydrocarbons exploration. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are also in close and regular contact with all the companies involved in this activity, as well as with some of the banks and other institutions supporting it.
	Argentina has recently issued threatening letters to a number of companies linked to hydrocarbons exploration in the Falkland Islands. Argentine authorities have no jurisdiction over the Falklands, as we have made clear to the companies concerned. The Government support absolutely the right of the Falkland Islanders to develop their economy, including through a hydrocarbons industry.

Falkland Islands

Kris Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements he has made to enable the UK to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands.

Jeremy Browne: The British Government attach great importance to commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Falklands conflict. Senior representatives from the Government will attend various events organised by the Falklands Island's Government and a number of families and veterans groups. These events will occur both in the UK and the Falkland Islands. I will be attending commemorative events in the Falkland Islands during my forthcoming visit in June.

India

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to support a moratorium on the death penalty in India.

Jeremy Browne: It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments strongly to oppose strongly the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We regularly make our position clear on the death penalty, both bilaterally and through the European Union, to the Indian Government and urged them to introduce a formal moratorium on the death penalty. I did so with the then Indian Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao, when we met in June 2011, and with Minister of State for External, Affairs Preneet Kaur, in July 2011. Most recently I raised our concerns regarding the case of Balwant Singh Rajoana with the high commissioner on 28 March.
	We have supported successive demarches by the European Union on the death penalty, most recently on 11 April. We also intend to raise the issue of the death penalty at the upcoming EU/India Human Rights Dialogue.

India

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had any discussions with the Indian authorities in 2012 on the use of the death penalty in India; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments strongly to oppose the death penalty, in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We regularly make our position clear, both bilaterally and through the European Union, to the Indian Government and urge them to introduce a formal moratorium. I raised the Government's concerns regarding the case of Balwant Singh Rajoana when I met the Indian high commissioner on 28 March. We have also supported successive demarches by the European Union, most recently on 11 April, and intend to raise the issue of the death penalty at the upcoming EU/India Human Rights Dialogue. We will continue to press for the universal abolition of the death penalty.

India

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage improvement in the treatment of (a) the Sikh community and (b) other minority communities in India.

Jeremy Browne: The British Government maintain a dialogue with the Government of India on human rights issues including the treatment of the Sikh community and other minority groups. Our high commission in New Delhi regularly discusses minority community issues with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and with various state level authorities. Minority rights are also among the issues discussed at the annual EU/India Human Rights Dialogue, the next round of which is due to take place soon.

India

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the President of India to grant clemency in the case of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana.

Jeremy Browne: It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments strongly to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. The recent announcement that the Indian authorities were to carry out the execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana was deeply concerning and I raised this case with the Indian high commissioner on 28 March 2012. I welcome the stay of execution issued on 28 March 2012 to allow the Indian President to consider an appeal for clemency and will continue to monitor developments closely.
	We regularly make clear our position on the death penalty, both bilaterally and through the European Union, to the Indian Government. On 11 April 2012, the EU presented a demarche to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs about the possible resumption of executions. We intend to raise the issue of the death penalty at the upcoming EU-India Human Rights Dialogue.

India

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received any response to his letter of November 2011 to the Indian high commissioner on the death penalty; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: I have not yet received a reply to my letter of November 2011, but our dialogue with the Indian Government on the death penalty continues. When the new Indian high commissioner paid an introductory call on me last month we discussed the death penalty and I expressed the Government's concerns at the news that the Indian authorities were to carry out the execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana.

Israel

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on road closures in operation in the west bank.

Alistair Burt: Through our embassy in Tel Aviv, we have lobbied the appropriate Israeli authorities on the issue of restrictions on freedom of movement in the west bank and East Jerusalem.
	We continue to work closely with the EU and other international partners, including the middle east quartet, to call on Israel to ease restrictions on movement and access.

Israel

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on the forced expulsion of Bedouins from parts of the Palestinian territories designated as Area C.

Alistair Burt: We are monitoring the situation regarding the Bedouin in Area C closely. I raised concerns over plans to move west bank Bedouin communities during my visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 7-10 January. I visited the Bedouin community school at Khan al Ahmar and subsequently discussed it with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on 18 January. Officials at the British embassy in Tel Aviv also regularly discuss our concerns with the Israeli authorities.
	The Israeli authorities state that they are yet to finalise their plans and will consult fully with Bedouin communities before moving ahead. The UK continues to encourage the Israeli Government to carry through on this commitment, to comply fully with their obligations under international law and to ensure that any decision reached on the movement of Bedouin communities should be made with their full consent and not result in a forcible transfer.

Israel

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on the erection of a separation barrier encircling the village of Al Walaja.

Alistair Burt: We continue to monitor the situation in Al Walaja village. I visited Al Walaja during my visit in January 2011 and saw for myself the effects the Israeli occupation has on this village.
	We have raised this and other related issues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including that of the route of the security barrier and illegal Israeli settlement activity with the Israeli authorities.
	We have made the UK position on the separation barrier clear: if Israel wished to build the barrier, it should have been built on the 1967 border-and where it is constructed on the Palestinian side of that border, it is illegal under international law.

Israel

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on water supply policies in the Jordan Valley.

Alistair Burt: The British Government have had detailed discussions with both Israeli and Palestinian authorities on the issue of water supply policies in the Jordan valley.
	The UK is funding a project working with Palestinians and Israelis to help improve co-operation on water issues to the benefit of both parties.

Israel

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on the reduction in the permitted fishing limit off the coast of Gaza from 20 to three miles.

Alistair Burt: The UK regularly makes representations at both ministerial and official level to the Government of Israel on the urgent need to ease restrictions on Gaza. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), and I discussed these issues during visits to the region in December 2011 and January 2012.
	As part of our engagement with the Israeli authorities, we frequently emphasise the impact restrictions have had on industry in Gaza. Alongside our EU partners, we have urged Israel to extend the fishing zone from three to 20 nautical miles, as stipulated in the Oslo Accords.

Israel: Palestinians

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on the demolition of Palestinian homes since the Oslo agreement.

Alistair Burt: Since coming to power, this Government have raised the issue of demolitions in the west bank and East Jerusalem on many occasions with the Israeli authorities, both at official and ministerial levels.
	Most recently, I raised the issue of demolitions with the Israeli ambassador on 23 February, and again with Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Mr Meridor, on 19 March.

Israel: Palestinians

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli Government on the practice of holding Palestinian prisoners on administrative detention without charge or trial.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 18 April 2012, Official Report, column 378W.

Israel: Palestinians

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on clean water for Palestine.

Alistair Burt: The British Government have had detailed discussions with both Israeli and Palestinian authorities on the issue of water supply policies.
	The UK is funding a project working with Palestinians and Israelis to help improve co-operation on water issues to the benefit of both parties.

Japan

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress towards agreement of the Japan-EU Economic Integration Agreement; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The Government strongly support the launch of negotiations for an ambitious EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that would significantly benefit both sides and further strengthen our relationship with a key strategic partner. Overall the EPA scoping study has made good progress in a number of key areas with the most recent round of talks on the scoping study taking place in Tokyo at the end of March. We continue to support the European Commission in its efforts to launch EPA negotiations, as underlined by the Prime Minister in his recent meeting with Prime Minister Noda in Tokyo.

Malta

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many industrial tribunal claims were submitted by locally engaged staff at the Maltese High Commission at Ta' Xbiex in each of the last three years; and in how many the applicants were successful.

David Lidington: In the last three years three cases have been submitted to the industrial tribunal. The first in 2011 by a casual employee of the British high commission, and the second in 2012 by two employees of the British pension office in Malta. The first case will be heard by the industrial tribunal on 24 April 2012, and the second combined case will be heard on 28 May 2012.

Malta

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions are taking place with Maltese trade unions in respect of outstanding grievances affecting locally engaged staff at the High Commission at Ta' Xbiex.

David Lidington: No discussions are currently taking place with Maltese trade unions in respect of outstanding grievances affecting locally engaged staff. The union and the high commission are currently engaged in a verification exercise conducted by the director of the Maltese Department for Employment and Industrial Relations to independently establish the number of staff within the high commission who are union members.

Montserrat

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department are stationed in Montserrat.

Henry Bellingham: Montserrat is classified as a small Post with five or fewer staff. For operational and security reasons we are unable to provide a further breakdown.

South Sudan

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will increase the number of technical advisers his Department provides to the Government of South Sudan.

Henry Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not currently provide technical advisers to the Government of South Sudan. Technical advice is provided under a number of programmes of the Department for International Development, and also through the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool. We do not currently have any plan to increase the number of technical advisers, but we would consider any request from the Government of South Sudan for additional support on a case-by-case basis.

Sri Lanka

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will initiate discussions on an EU-wide travel ban for people accused of serious human rights abuses in Sri Lanka at the end of the recent conflict; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We have consistently called for an independent, thorough and credible investigation into allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both sides in the military conflict.
	We pressed for and welcome the Sri Lanka resolution agreed at the UN Human Rights Council in March. We urge the Sri Lankan Government to take the necessary steps to implement the recommendations of their lessons learnt and reconciliation commission as soon as possible.
	There are currently no plans to initiate discussions with EU counterparts on possible travel restrictions on Sri Lankan nationals accused of human rights abuses at the end of the conflict.

Syria

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the ceasefire in Syria is enforced.

Alistair Burt: The UK has worked tirelessly in the United Nations Security Council with its international partners to ensure support for the Joint UN/Arab League Special Envoy, Kofi Annan's six-point plan aimed at bringing an end to the violence in Syria. This effort resulted in Security Council Resolutions 2042 and 2043 adopted on 14 and 21 April which endorsed the deployment of monitoring missions to Syria.
	We urge the Assad regime to implement fully its undertakings to Kofi Annan, including stopping all troop movements towards population centres; ending the use of heavy weapons in civilian areas; and withdrawing the military to their barracks. It is crucial that they allow UN monitors freedom of movement and access agree to the use of air assets. The opposition must also ensure that they adhere to the ceasefire.

Tibet

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if officials from his Department will hold discussions with the Chinese government in respect of working with local monasteries and communities to resolve the underlying grievances of the Tibetan people.

Jeremy Browne: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials raised our concerns in relation to the situation in Tibet with Chinese officials at the latest round of the UK-China human rights dialogue on 10 January 2012.
	On 25 January I released a statement regarding the shooting of Tibetan protestors by Chinese security forces, urging the Chinese Government to exercise restraint, to release full details of the incidents, and to work to resolve the underlying grievances.
	We will continue to seek appropriate opportunities to raise our concerns and to encourage the Chinese authorities to work with local monasteries and communities to resolve the underlying grievances of the Tibetan people.

Tibet

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will take the lead in organising an international government forum on the issue of Tibet.

Jeremy Browne: We believe that the issue of Tibet is best addressed through meaningful dialogue between the Dalai Lama's representatives and the Chinese authorities. We work closely in the European Union and with other nations to encourage this.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials raised Tibet at the latest round of the UK-China human rights dialogue on 10 January 2012, and I raised my concerns with the Chinese ambassador on 31 January 2012.
	On 7 December 2011, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), made a full statement regarding the Government's human rights concerns in Tibet, in response to a Westminster Hall debate.
	Our consistent position has been that long term stability can only be achieved through respect for human rights and genuine autonomy for Tibet within the framework of the Chinese constitution.

Tibet

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when officials from his Department last visited the Tibetan region; and what the outcomes were of that visit.

Jeremy Browne: Officials from our embassy in Beijing and our Consulate General in Chongqing regularly visit Tibetan areas of China. The most recent visit was this month.
	In the past 12 months they have visited Tibetan areas of Qinghai and Gansu province (April 2012); Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province (October 2011); Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province (September 2011); and Tibetan areas of Qinghai and the Tibetan Autonomous Region (April 2011).
	Additionally, an official was denied entry to the Aba and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture when he tried to visit in February 2012..
	These field visits have found evidence that some Tibetans are benefiting from rapid economic development and subsidies but that tensions and the security presence in many Tibetan areas remain high. We continue to seek opportunities to encourage the Chinese authorities to work for sustainable stability and prosperity in Tibet through respect for human rights and an ongoing and constructive dialogue.

Tunisia

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the Government provides to assist Tunisia's transition towards democracy; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Through the Arab Partnership, we are supporting the Tunisian people's efforts to strengthen their political institutions, improve human rights, including freedom of expression, and economic growth. UK support for the election process in Tunisia, including voter education for women and young people in rural areas, was informed by discussions with the Tunisian Government and civil society in Tunisia and we continue to follow that process. In financial year (FY) 2011-12, approximately £1.2 million was spent on 12 projects in Tunisia: This was approximately 24% of the total spend from the Arab Political Participation Fund (APPF) last FY.
	Tunisia will remain a key priority for the Arab Partnership and we will increase our spend this financial year with a wider range of partners, and with an additional funding allocation from the Arab Partnership Economic Facility on economic reform initiatives. The UK is continuing to engage with the Tunisian Government on how we can provide further support: the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) hosted a working lunch for the Tunisian Foreign Minister in late March and the Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, my hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes) and I also met the Tunisian Minister for Vocational Training and Employment during his visit to the UK in January. The areas discussed include supporting economic recovery: trade and investment, vocational training and increasing employability among the young. Development of these areas will have cumulative benefits for the development of democracy of Tunisia.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the annual salary is of the lead prosecutor in the Turks and Caicos Islands Special Investigation and Prosecutions Team.

Henry Bellingham: The prosecution Counsel is Andrew Mitchell QC. He is engaged by the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. He is not a salaried employee but is paid a daily rate in line with normal legal practice.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on housing for its officials in the Turks and Caicos Islands in each of the last three years.

Henry Bellingham: The rent figures for UK-based staff in the Governor's Office for the past three financial years are:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2011-12 148,144 
			 2010-11 174,975 
			 2009-10 94,512

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set a date for elections in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Henry Bellingham: The joint written ministerial statement issued with the Minister of State, Department for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan), on 30 January 2012, Official Report, columns 34-36WS, set out our assessment of progress towards meeting the milestones. I still hope that the milestones will be met in time for elections to take place during 2012.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure a smooth transition from direct rule to locally-elected politicians in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Henry Bellingham: In the joint written ministerial statement I issued with my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan), on 9 December 2010, Official Report, columns 40-41WS, we set out the milestones that we judged would have to be met before elections could take place in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Our statement on 30 January 2012, Official Report, columns 34-36WS, gave our current assessment of progress made towards achieving the milestones. Good progress has been made, although there is still much to be done.
	A new constitution order was laid before Parliament in July 2011. New ordinances on the electoral process and the regulation of political parties are being prepared.
	A delegation from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy led by my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley (Mr Spellar), and my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy), visited the Turks and Caicos Islands in March to engage with the Turks and Caicos Islands political parties and community representatives on the scope and content of the draft elections ordinances.
	The Turks and Caicos Islands Government have begun a programme which will enable Turks and Caicos Islanders to both verify their status and register for elections.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress by the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Henry Bellingham: The Special Investigation and Prosecution Team continue to make good progress. 13 people have been charged with corruption, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. Sufficiency hearings are now taking place.

USA

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the authorities in the US on bail conditions for Christopher Tappin; and in which other cases similar representations have been made by his Department in the last 10 years.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not made any representations to the US authorities about bail for Mr Tappin.
	Information on when similar representations might have been made by the FCO in the last 10 years is not held centrally.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the objectives are of the Friends of Yemen meeting on 23 May 2012.

Alistair Burt: The UK is co-chairing the Friends of Yemen meeting in Riyadh on 23 May with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen. The objectives for the meeting are to support Yemen's political transition and to co-ordinate international support for Yemeni plans on political, economic and security reform.